Washington, May 22 (IANS) Nato allies must urgently expand defence production and protect freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte said after talks in Sweden.
The two leaders met on the sidelines of the Nato Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Helsingborg on Thursday ahead of the alliance summit scheduled in Ankara later this year.
The discussions focused on defence spending, military production, Iran and maritime security.
Rubio and Rutte discussed “strategic imperatives for the Alliance, including increased Allied defence spending, the upcoming Nato Summit in Ankara, and expanded Transatlantic defence production,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a readout of the meeting.
The readout also added that the two leaders discussed “US opposition to protectionist measures that risk Nato interoperability and readiness, weaken the Transatlantic defence industrial base, and jeopardise the ability to deliver equipment to our warfighters.”
Rutte said Nato countries were now sharply increasing defence budgets.
“The good news is the money is now coming in,” the Nato Chief added.
“Defence spending is rapidly ramping up.”
But he warned that Nato’s defence industrial base was struggling to meet demand.
“This is a problem in Europe, this is a problem in the US,” Rutte said.
“This will be a big issue at the Ankara Summit.”
Rubio said the alliance needed to accelerate weapons and munitions production to prepare for future threats.
“It is clear to the world, to all of us in the Alliance and beyond, that we simply are not able to produce munitions today at a rate that are necessary for future needs,” he added.
He described the upcoming summit as “probably one of the more important leaders’ summit in the history of Nato”.
Rubio also referred to divisions within the alliance over recent US military actions in the Middle East.
“The President’s views — frankly, disappointment — at some of our Nato Allies and their response to our operations in the Middle East, they are well documented,” he said.
Iran and maritime security emerged as another key issue during the talks.
Rutte said Nato Ministers were deeply concerned about threats to navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
“I hear from many of my colleagues here that it’s not acceptable that freedom of navigation is basically trampled upon as it is at the moment,” he added.
He also praised US actions against Iran’s military capabilities.
“The US degrading the nuclear capability of Iran but also the long-range missile capability of Iran, is crucial for the Middle East, for Europe, for the whole world,” Rutte said.
Rubio accused Iran of attempting to impose a “tolling system” in the Strait of Hormuz.
“There is not a country in the world that should accept that,” he said, adding: “That’s just not acceptable. It can’t happen.”
He said the US was supporting a Bahrain-backed resolution at the United Nations Security Council aimed at protecting freedom of navigation in international waters.
Rubio also repeated Washington’s long-standing position that “Iran can never have a nuclear weapon”.
–IANS
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