Britain and Europe must stand up to Putin together: Boris Johnson warns against the 'cult of the strong man' as he joins Trump's demand for more defence spending
- Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has hit out at the 'cult of the strongman'
- Mr Johnson warns the UK will continue to be 'tough with Russia' over Syria
- He also hinted France, Germany and Italy should spend more on defence
Europe must heed Donald Trump's call to increase defence spending, Boris Johnson warns – as he says Russia and Islamic State are making the world a more 'brutal' place.
Setting out his vision as Foreign Secretary for the first time, Mr Johnson hit back at Remainers like Nick Clegg who claim Brexit will diminish Britain's influence in the world.
Mr Johnson said post-Brexit Britain is 'emphatically not… a nation hauling up the drawbridge'.
The Foreign Secretary said Europe could build its own defence structures if it wanted but had to meet Nato targets on defence spending.
Boris Johnson, pictured delivering his speech at Chatham House in London today, warned against allowing 'strong men' to dominate global affairs
The Foreign Secretary used the speech as his first major statement on his brief after a whirlwind series of visits in his first months in post
'To those who say we are now too small, too weak, and too poor to have any influence on the world, I say there are plenty of people who do understand what this country can do and the effect it can have,' he says.
In a major speech at London's Chatham House, the Foreign Secretary warns that the world is 'not in good shape'.
He goes on: 'We have the cult of the strong man, we have democracy in retreat, we have an arc of instability across the Middle East from Iraq to Syria to Libya.
'What is the answer of the UK? Is it to cower and put the pillow over our heads? Emphatically not.'
Mr Johnson said the UK's interest was to have close relations with a 'strong EU' following Brexit, and London would not 'block or impede' steps towards further integration, including a common security and defence policy.
Referring to Brussels' ambitions to build its own defence 'architecture' alongside Nato, he said: 'If they want to do that, fine' - though he added that the priority should be to meet the Nato target of spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence.
Mr Trump has alarmed European members of Nato by warning they can no longer expect the United States to shoulder the financial burden of defending the West.
Currently, Britain, Poland, Estonia and Greece are the only Nato countries apart from the US to meet the alliance's commitment to spend two per cent of GDP on defence.
Mr Johnson said Donald Trump was right to say Europe must pay for its own defence
France, Germany, Italy and Spain are all among the 23 other Nato countries failing to keep their promises to pay up.
Mr Johnson said that Britain has an 'unbreakable' commitment to Nato and the principle that an attack on one is an attack on all.
But he warned other EU leaders that Mr Trump 'has a point' about the need for Europe to re-arm, rather than relying solely on the United States.
'It cannot be justified that one Nato ally – America – accounts for about 70 per cent of the alliance's defence spending while the other 27 countries manage only 30 per cent between them,' he said.
'I want every Nato member to meet the agreed target of spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence and 20 per cent of their defence budget on new equipment.'
But while Mr Trump has talked of trying to build friendlier relations with Vladimir Putin, Mr Johnson warns that the UK will continue to be 'tough with Russia', over its support for Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and its war in Ukraine.
Britain will continue to back tough sanctions against Moscow, and cannot 'normalise relations' while Russia continues 'its part in the destruction of Aleppo', he says.
Mr Johnson made his intervention in the first of a series of speeches on Britain's foreign policy after Brexit
Boris Johnson did not name Russia or Vladimir Putin but hit out at the 'cult of the strongman' across the world
Mr Johnson does not name Vladimir Putin, but hits out at the 'cult of the strongman'.
He also warns of the danger posed to the world order by 'non-state actors' like Islamic State.
'We are struggling against non-state actors who view the whole concept of a global liberal order with contempt,' he says.
'And it is precisely because of the intensity of these challenges that we need to redouble our resolve and to defend and preserve the best of the rules-based international order.
'If we fail, then we risk reverting to an older and more brutal system where the strong are free to devour the weak where might is always right and the rules and institutions we have so painstakingly built fade away into irrelevance. We cannot allow this to happen.'
Mr Johnson predicts that the special relationship with the US will be 'stronger than ever' under President Trump. But he also stresses the UK will continue to stand with Europe on defence after leaving the EU.
He says: 'Our role is to be a flying buttress - supportive of the EU project, but outside the main body of the church.
'We are there with our EU friends in the fight against piracy off the horn of Africa and in dealing with the migration crisis in the Mediterranean because we know that in keeping Britain safe our defensive line runs through Europe's wider neighbourhood.'
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