British PM Starmer set to raise defence spending - The Sun

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Keir Starmer will set out a timeline to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, The Sun newspaper reported on Tuesday, a day before the prime minister travels to meet U.S. President Donald Trump.

Starmer is due to make a statement in parliament about defence and security at 1230 GMT on Tuesday.

Britain currently spends 2.3% of gross domestic product on defence, and Starmer has pledged to increase that to 2.5%, but has not said by when.

European leaders were stunned earlier this month when Trump's administration made clear that Europe would need to step up to provide its own security, sparking a bout of diplomatic activity.

Starmer joined other European leaders in Paris to discuss a collective response after Trump also began talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin to end Ukraine's three-year war, without Ukrainian or European leaders.

Macron met Trump in Washington on Monday and Starmer is due to meet the U.S. president on Thursday. Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, said he expected to be in London with other European leaders to discuss next steps on Sunday.

(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar, writing by Sarah Young; Editing by Kate Holton; editing by Michael Holden)

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