Nato needs quantum leap in defence, chief says

Nato needs a "quantum leap" in defence to deter threats to the alliance, its secretary general has said, as he called for Western allies to invest more in their armed forces.

In a speech in London, Mark Rutte said Russia could be ready to use military force against Nato within five years.

Rutte said Nato needed a "400% increase in air and missile" to credibly defend itself against attacks.

He said he expected Nato allies to agree to spend 5% of their national income on defence, at a summit in the Netherlands next week.

Rutte's speech at Chatham House comes at a critical time for global security as Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and China's military expansion continues to raise questions about Nato's capabilities and readiness for war.

"The fact is, we need a quantum leap in our collective defence," Rutte said.

"The fact is, we must have more forces and capabilities to implement our defense plans in full."

Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister, is pushing for members of the military alliance to commit 5% towards defence-related spending when leaders week in the Hague.

He has proposed that Nato's 32 members should commit to spending 3.5% on hard defence, and 1.5% on broader security areas, such as cyber.

But he did not put a date on when he expected Nato allies to hit the spending target.

The proposal is a compromise deal designed to satisfy US President Donald Trump, who has demanded that allies each spend 5% of their economic output on defence, up from a current commitment of 2%.

"It will be a Nato-wide commitment and a defining moment for the alliance," Rutte said.

Russia lambasted Rutte before he had made his speech.

Nato "is demonstrating itself as an instrument of aggression and confrontation", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow.

Rutte's speech came after he had met Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, their second Downing Street talks since last year.

Starmer's government plans to increase military spending from 2.3% to 2.5% of national income by 2027, and has set an ambition to then increase it to 3% by 2034.

The increase will fund plans to move the UK to "war-fighting readiness", as outlined in the government's recent strategic review of defence.

"I know we can count on the United Kingdom as we start the next chapter for Nato," Rutte said.

He said the upcoming summit will "transform our alliance".

"Russia could be ready to use military force against Nato within five years," Rutte said. "Let's not kid ourselves. We are all on the eastern flank now."

After his speech, the Nato secretary general was asked if he believed Chancellor Rachel Reeves should be raising taxes to meet defence spending commitments.

He replied: "It's not up to me to decide, of course, how countries pay the bill."

He added that if the UK did not spend 5% on defence, it could still have an NHS but warned Britons "you had better learn to speak Russian".

President Trump has long complained that European allies do not pay enough towards their collective defence, and threatened the US would quit Nato over payments in 2018.

European countries have increased their spending since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Some eastern European and Nordic countries have already said they will make pledges to increase defence spending to that level, in the run-up to the summit in the Hague.

On Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced his country would hit 2% this year.