Keir Starmer to deploy UK warships to the Arctic following Trump’s Greenland threats
British warships are preparing to patrol the Arctic, Sir Keir Starmer announced; The move was triggered by Donald Trump’s previous threats to annex Greenland due to security concerns. The Labor leader announced the initiative at the Munich Security Conference and said the US, Canada and other NATO allies would join Britain in improving security in the North.
During his speech, Sir Keir also outlined the UK’s plans to pursue “deeper economic integration” with the European Union, aiming to “get closer to the single market” across a range of sectors. He conceded that such a shift would require “changes”, arguing that the current EU-UK “status quo is not fit for purpose”.
Starmer also stated that the UK would fulfill its commitment to defend NATO allies if requested.
Article 5, one of the founding principles of the alliance, states that an attack on one NATO member is considered an attack on all NATO members.
US President Donald Trump questioned whether the US’s European partners would respond to the call if it were held today. The Prime Minister tried to dispel this doubt.
He said: “I am proud that my party fought for the creation of NATO, which our then secretary of state, Ernie Bevin, called the moral unity of the West.
“And we demonstrated our commitment to that ideal, defending each other’s sovereignty as we did in Greenland and, more importantly, coming to each other’s aid under Article 5, fighting together in Afghanistan at a terrible cost for many in my country and many allied countries.
“I say to all NATO members: our commitment to Article 5 remains as deep as ever, and you can have no doubt that the United Kingdom will come to your aid today if called upon.”
Amid domestic political difficulties, Sir Keir also stated that he “finished the week much stronger than I started it”.
His speech at the important security meeting came after the speech of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. While Mr. Rubio was criticizing past mistakes made by Western nations over the past four decades, he was also trying to mend strained ties between the United States and Europe in the wake of recent transatlantic turbulence.
Notably, Mr. Rubio refused to attend the Ukraine meeting at Friday’s conference. At that meeting, allies reaffirmed their support for the war-torn country on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion. While US officials attributed his absence to scheduling conflicts, European observers reportedly interpreted it as a potential indicator of the White House’s waning interest in involving them in efforts to resolve the conflict.
