NATO members will ‘fight together’ if needed, defence secretary says
NATO member states will “fight together” if needed, the UK’s defence secretary has pledged during a visit to Norway.
John Healey told a press conference with his Norwegian counterpart Tore Sandvik that Russian leader Vladimir Putin “wants to divide NATO” and “wants to divide Europe” as he warned that a ceasefire in Ukraine “must not be broken again by Russia re-invading”.
Addressing reporters at the launch of talks on a new joint defence pact with Norway, Healey said: “But three years on from his invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland are part of Nato.
“In the last year, the non-US nations of Nato increased defence spending by 20 per cent, so we are stepping up on European security.”
He said Europe recognises that “we must do more, and we will” but cautioned: “That isn’t just about how much you spend. It’s about how you spend it.”
And he pledged: “Nato also needs nations like Norway, like the UK, ready to set new standards of how we work together, we plan together, we deter together and if necessary, we will fight together.”
His visit, he said, was to present a united front against Putin, adding: “Russia’s aggression is not confined to Ukraine and we have to meet that challenge and confront that together.”
Healey’s visit to the Scandinavian nation comes as Europe was thrown into turmoil by US President Donald Trump’s remark about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky being a dictator – which saw pushback including by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch.
While Chancellor Rachel Reeves has insisted no one should be in any doubt about the government’s commitment to spend 2.5 per cent of the UK’s GDP on defence.
Reeves told journalists: “I am absolutely committed to spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence. I’m really clear that a strong economy depends on strong defences and our national security being protected, so we will set out that pathway to 2.5 per cent of GDP.”
She added: “We will do it in the proper way, but no one should be in any doubt about my commitment to spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence.”
Earlier today, Healey and Sandvik held bilateral talks deep within a mountainside fortress, including on security priorities, Ukraine’s future and defending the high north from Russia.
They spoke at the Norwegian Joint Headquarters, the command centre for Norway’s military, tunnelled into the side of a mountain near the town of Bodo in the north of the country.
Healey also visited the British vessel, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Proteus, now docked in the town of Bodo, which is set to join Norwegian ships on exercise in the Baltic Sea.
Proteus was involved in shadowing the Yantar, a Russian spy vessel which was tracked by British forces as it was caught loitering over undersea infrastructure in UK waters last year.
Sandvik stressed that damage to western undersea cables and infrastructure could lead to escalating tensions with Russia beyond the war in Ukraine.
He warned: “Russia continues to place great value on its capacities meant for undersea sabotage… targeting western critical infrastructure in deep waters.”
NATO forces are monitoring for any attempts at sabotage, he stressed, and “will see” them, as he warned Russia against “misperceptions that could lead to unintended escalation”.
Surveillance submarines are in use by Britain and Norway to “monitor our underwater infrastructure”, he added.
While Healey welcomed the “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to deepen “that military, industry and national partnership between our two countries”.
The UK and Norway have both signed a declaration to work towards a new defence agreement, intended to be finalised by the summer, while both countries will “step up further” their support to Ukraine.
He later added: “Ukraine is still fighting. We must keep them in the fight. We must try and keep them strong to secure that peace for the long-term.”
And Britain, he vowed, will back Ukraine on the “battlefield and the negotiating table when they choose to do so”.
Healey also compared Zelensky to Winston Churchill by not holding elections during war time, calling him “a man who, stuck in his country, led his country, and still does”.
He added: “He was elected. He’s the elected leader of Ukraine, and he’s done what Winston Churchill did in Britain in the Second World War, suspended elections while at war.”