German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas made a case on Friday for ensuring lasting security by other means than raising defense spending, in a speech at the Munich Security Conference
MUNICH (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th February, 2019) German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas made a case on Friday for ensuring lasting security by other means than raising defense spending, in a speech at the Munich Security Conference."We don't believe that security can be measured by growing defense budget alone ... Lasting security can only be created if we ... strengthen conflict prevention and consolidate humanitarian assistance, stabilization and development cooperation instead of calling them into question," he said.
Maas also suggested strengthening "cooperative approaches" to arms control and putting disarmament back on the global agenda.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to quit NATO if allies do not increase military spending. Only a handful of nations meet the alliance's target of 2 percent of their industrial output. In 2019, Germany plans to spend 1.3 percent on defense.
