German and Britain aim to enhance cooperation within NATO, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in Berlin on Thursday on meeting her British counterpart David Cameron as the war in Ukraine enters its third year and ahead of elections in the US.
Responding to a journalist's question on the possibility of Donald Trump winning the US presidential election, Baerbock said: "We talked intensively about how we could strengthen the European pillar of NATO, independently of who would be standing on the other side of the Atlantic bridge."
Berlin and London were agreed that the "European pillar" had to be strengthened, and this would be one of the main themes at the NATO summit in Washington in July, she said.
Baerbock said that enhanced security and defence cooperation between European Union member states always implied cooperation within NATO.
Cameron said European allies should focus on demonstrating unity in the run-up to the US elections, irrespective of whether they are EU members or not. Britain left the bloc in 2020.
This would cause the future US president to see the strength of the European partnership regardless of who wins the election, the former prime minister said.
Baerbock and Cameron were meeting on the occasion of the second Strategic Dialogue between the two countries at which cooperation on foreign policy is to be discussed once a year.
Earlier, Cameron strongly advocated the delivery of long-range weapons to Ukraine.
"When it comes to the long range weapons I can only speak for Britain's experience of how effective these weapons have been in helping Ukraine to fight of this illegal aggression," he said after meeting Baerbock.
Storm Shadow cruise missiles are among the weapons that Britain is supplying to Ukraine. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, however, refuses to provide German-made longer-range Taurus cruise missiles because he fears that Germany could become involved in the war.
Cameron firmly opposed the theory that the delivery of new weapons systems could lead to a widening of the war. "At every stage it has been said, if you give anti-tank weapons to Ukraine, that is escalation. No it wasn't. If you give tanks to Ukraine, that is escalation. No it wasn't. If you give long-range artillery or long-range fires to Ukraine, that's escalation. No it isn't," he said.
"If what you are doing is helping a country defend itself from illegal and completely unjustified aggression then there should be nothing to stop you helping that country to recover its territory."
"As long as we are not in a situation where a NATO soldier is killing a Russian soldier, we are not causing escalation. We are allowing Ukraine to defend itself."
Cameron also touched on the leaked call by German officers that was published by Russia.
He said there was "incredible unity between allies" when asked about the call which included details of British operations, according to PA news agency.
Russia intercepted a telephone conversation in which German officers were heard suggesting British service personnel were on the ground in Ukraine.
"I don't want to play into the hands of some Russian narrative about divisions between allies. What I see... is incredible unity between allies, incredible unity in NATO," Cameron said.
"Of course, we're going to have areas where we want to discuss what more we can do, what more we can help. And those are the sorts of discussions that good friends and allies with this unity have in private."
Asked whether London was pushing Berlin to send its Taurus missiles, Cameron said "it was a matter for the German government to decide" and that he could "only speak for Britain's experience of how effective these weapons have been at helping Ukraine to fight off this illegal aggression."
Peace will be achieved "through strength," he said.
"You get peace by demonstrating that Putin cannot win, you get peace by helping the Ukrainians deliver what they need on the battlefield."
He downplayed concerns about a possible escalation of the conflict.
Cameron and Baerbock also discussed illegal immigration and the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza in their talks.
