Kerry: Events in Ukraine are "a wake-up call" to NATO allies
- 10 years ago
ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned Russia on Tuesday (April 29) that the United States and its allies would stand united in their defense of Ukraine.
"We have to make it absolutely clear to the Kremlin that NATO territory is inviolable," Kerry said in a speech to the Atlantic Council in Washington. "We will defend every single piece of it. Article 5 of the NATO Treaty must mean something and our allies on the front lines need and deserve no less."
Kerry called the crisis in Ukraine "a wake-up call" for NATO that requires "an alliance-wide effort."
"So to start, we cannot continue to allow allied defense budgets to shrink," he said. "Clearly, not all allies are going to meet the NATO benchmark of two percent of GDP overnight or even next year. But it's time for allies who are below that level to make credible commitments to increase their spending on defense over the next five years."
Kerry said the United States
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned Russia on Tuesday (April 29) that the United States and its allies would stand united in their defense of Ukraine.
"We have to make it absolutely clear to the Kremlin that NATO territory is inviolable," Kerry said in a speech to the Atlantic Council in Washington. "We will defend every single piece of it. Article 5 of the NATO Treaty must mean something and our allies on the front lines need and deserve no less."
Kerry called the crisis in Ukraine "a wake-up call" for NATO that requires "an alliance-wide effort."
"So to start, we cannot continue to allow allied defense budgets to shrink," he said. "Clearly, not all allies are going to meet the NATO benchmark of two percent of GDP overnight or even next year. But it's time for allies who are below that level to make credible commitments to increase their spending on defense over the next five years."
Kerry said the United States