Britain and Germany sign defense pact to counter Russia's growing threat
Officials say German submarine-hunting planes will patrol the North Atlantic from a base in Scotland under a new Britain-Germany defense pact in response to the growing threat from Russia
LONDON (AP) — German submarine-hunting planes will patrol the North Atlantic from a base in Scotland under a new Britain-Germany defense pact sealed in response to the growing threat from Russia.
Defense ministers from Britain and Germany signed the agreement in London on Wednesday in what officials call the first such defense pact between the two NATO member countries to boost European security amid rising Russian aggression.
The deal comes as the war launched by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 grinds on, and with Ukraine and its European allies anxious about the outcome of November's U.S. presidential election.
U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey said the need for Europe to bolster its own security, and for the U.K. to play a bigger role in NATO, “is the driving force behind our NATO-first U.K. defense strategy, (and) behind our reset of U.K. relations with Europe.”
