The UK Armed Forces Minister, Leo Docherty MP, has completed a visit of Romania and Bulgaria.
Following recent announcements by the UK government to enhance military support for Ukraine with an additional £500 million and to increase UK defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030, Docherty’s visit focused on bolstering collective security in the Black Sea region and supporting Ukraine.
During his meetings on Wednesday and Thursday with defence ministers and military chiefs in Bucharest and Sofia, Minister Docherty underscored the urgency of the international effort to counteract the impacts of what he termed “Putin’s illegal invasion.”
“To uphold the rules-based international order, protect our daily freedoms and deter against potential threats, it is important like-minded nations band together and invest more to ensure our collective security,” stated Minister Docherty.
In Bucharest, discussions with Romanian Minister of National Defense, Angel Tîlvăr, and other senior defence officials, reaffirmed the strong bilateral relations, particularly in air defence. The UK has deployed six Typhoon fighter jets and over 200 Royal Air Force personnel to defend Romania’s airspace under Operation Biloxi.
The Shapps/Tory school of “how to get more out of less”.
Whatever alliance you’re in, bringing less troops, AFVs, guns, aircraft & ships etc to it every year is cynical neglect, even in the most benign peacetime.
It diminshes your voice on the world stage, making you quite ignorable.
The First responsibility of the nation state is for Defence without which the rest is not sustainable.