US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has urged Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband to increase Britain's defence spending, saying Europe should take a greater role in its own security. The comments came during Miliband's first official visit to Washington, with the two men holding a 90-minute meeting on Wednesday.
Pressure on NATO spending
The discussion comes amid continued pressure from the Trump administration for NATO members to increase their defence contributions. Last year, alliance leaders agreed to spend 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2035.
The issue has also become a domestic political debate in the UK, with Prime Minister Andy Burnham saying last week he would meet the NATO target but declining to commit to the earlier ambition of reaching 3 per cent by 2030.
Strained relations
The talks followed a period of strain between London and Washington over Britain's position on US military action against Iran. Before the initial American air strikes, Miliband had urged then-Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer not to allow the US to use British bases. Although the UK later reversed that decision, it prompted criticism from the Trump administration, with the US president telling British reporters he was "very disappointed".
The Foreign Secretary's support for green energy is likely to have been viewed critically by many in Washington, where Trump and his allies have promoted the phrase "drill, baby, drill". However, the US president has welcomed Burnham's indication that Britain would take a pragmatic approach to drilling in the North Sea.
Focus on far-left terrorism
Beyond defence and energy, Rubio has made clear his concerns about what he describes as the international threat from left-wing terrorism. He is particularly focused on Europe and the effect of migration on the continent.
Shortly before Miliband took up his new role last month, Rubio hosted representatives from 67 countries as part of a Trump administration effort to build international backing for a global crackdown on far-left terrorism. During the event, Rubio said the threat posed by Islamic militants had been "severely diminished", but warned that far-left terror remained a "blind spot".
"It is time to crush this evil forever," Rubio said, according to The Washington Post.
The Trump administration has taken action against left-wing groups in the US, including Antifa, which was described as a "domestic terrorist organisation" by the White House last year. The State Department has also targeted groups overseas, designating four far-left organisations from Germany, Italy and Greece as "specially designated global terrorists" in November.
Shortly after the conference, the State Department announced visa restrictions aimed at blocking "the entry of foreign nationals who finance, recruit, incite, or otherwise enable terrorist, violent, and criminal Far-Left Terrorist networks".
