WORLD
‘Britain, France to sign defence treaties’
Baku, November 2 (AZERTAC). Britain and France will sign defence treaties at a summit in London Tuesday setting out cooperation on issues including military planes and aircraft carriers, Prime Minister David Cameron said, according to AFP.
"Tomorrow, the British and French governments will sign new defence and security cooperation treaties," Cameron told parliament, adding that they would "deliver for our national interest while protecting our national sovereignty."
The deal is a bid to allow two medium-sized nuclear powers to remain global players in the face of economic austerity, officials and diplomats say -- and Cameron admitted that saving money was one of the objectives.
"There are many areas where we can work together and enhance our capabilities and save money at the same time," he said.
Cameron cited cooperation on the A400M transport aircraft and on aircraft carriers, while media reports suggest the defence treaty will also see the creation of a new ad hoc joint military force between the nations.
Such a force is likely to be opposed by Eurosceptics within Cameron`s Conservative party.
"To those who worry that this might in some way lead to sort of European armies -- that is not the point. The point is to enhance sovereign capability by two like-minded countries being able to work together," he insisted.
Cameron said the pacts would follow the principle he had stuck to at a meeting of European Union leaders last week when Britain pressed to keep the EU budget in line with reduced national budgets.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who will attend the summit in London, said this year he was ready to remove "taboos" and consider "concrete projects" to work with Britain.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox wrote in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper that at the summit "this relationship will be taken to a new level -- the closest it has ever been."
He said the aim was to strengthen the relationship "at all levels," from joint training to the acquisition of equipment and technology and information sharing, but added: "We will maintain an autonomous capability."