NATO countries that do not spend two percent of their GDP on defense are playing "Russian Roulette" with the future of the West, UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps warned.
In an article for the British newspaper "Telegraph", dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the military alliance, the defense minister said that the allies must recognize that we are now in a "pre-war world".
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Last year, only 11 NATO countries met the two percent target first set nearly two decades ago, and France and Germany were not among them.
The number is expected to rise to 18 this year. Paris and Berlin recently announced they would meet the target in 2024, but not all of the alliance's 32 member states have followed suit.
"We need to go beyond that goal to strengthen our defense. However, some countries still cannot reach even two percent. This cannot go on. We can't afford to play Russian roulette with our future,'' Shapps said.
Speaking of NATO's anniversary, the British Defense Secretary said: "Honoring NATO's past is not enough. Today, we must again urgently think about the future of the Alliance. We have moved from the post-war world to the pre-war world".