00:00Well, I had a discussion with President Trump last night and set out to him the views of the region
00:09here.
00:09These Gulf states are the neighbors of Iran, and therefore, if the ceasefire is to hold, and we hope it
00:16will, it has to involve them.
00:18They have very strong views on the Strait of Homoose.
00:20And we spent most of the time on the call talking about the practical plan that's going to be needed
00:26to get navigation through the Strait and the role that the UK is playing.
00:32For a couple of weeks now, we've been pulling together a coalition of countries, now over 30 countries, working on
00:39a political and diplomatic plan, but also looking at military capabilities and actually the logistics of actually moving vessels through
00:49the Strait.
00:49So that was the focus of the discussion last night, reflection on what I've been discussing here, but also that
00:57focus on a practical plan in relation to navigation through the Strait.
01:02Well, we're very strong supporters of NATO, and I've been making the argument for some considerable time that we need
01:10to do more.
01:11It's the single most effective military alliance the world has ever known.
01:14Do we Europeans need to do more?
01:17Yes, I've been making that argument for the best part of two years, to our European partners as much as
01:24anybody else, and we continue to make that case, and we will make that case.
01:28Then it's in America's interest as well, though?
01:30It is in America's interest.
01:31It's in European interest.
01:33You know, NATO is a defensive alliance which for decades has kept us much safer than we would otherwise have
01:40been.
01:40So we're strong supporters of NATO.
01:43We'll always be strong supporters of NATO.
01:45Do I think there should be a stronger European element to NATO?
01:48Yes, and I think we should step into that space.
01:51We're already doing it, which is why we're coordinating strategically with our partners in NATO.
01:57Well, the overarching impression here is the importance, as they see it, as us standing with them as an ally,
02:06as a friend of theirs, at a point of need.
02:09And there's been reflection on the work we've done with them over the last six to seven weeks on collective
02:14self-defense.
02:14Here in Qatar, we've got a joint squadron.
02:17So a real sense of here we are as an ally, standing with our allies when it matters most to
02:23them.
02:23Obviously, the discussion moved very quickly to the ceasefire, a sense that it's fragile, that more work is needed, that
02:31the Strait of Hormuz has to be part of the solution, a very strong sense that there can't be tolling
02:37or restrictions on that navigation.
02:39And so we come away from here with a real desire on their part to work more closely with us
02:46on defense resilience, on economic resilience.
02:49There's a sense here, as there is, I think, in the United Kingdom that this conflict is going to define
02:54us for a generation and we must respond and we will respond with strength.
Comentarios