Obama urges Cameron to spend 2% GDP on defence
US President Barack Obama has urged UK Prime Minister David Cameron to maintain the British defence budget at 2% of the country's GDP.
The request came at a bilateral meeting on the margins of the G7 summit in Bavaria on Sunday, after Chancellor George Osborne unveiled last week that defence spending was being cut by £500m.
"The president underlined the importance of the UK and the US - we are the two pillars of NATO - and said he accepted the fiscal challenges but hoped that the UK would find a way to meet it," a Downing Street source said.
Obama stressed the importance of maintaining defence spending due to threats Western nations face in the Middle East, North Africa and Russia.
Following the meeting, the first one between the two since Cameron won the UK election in May, Obama also commented that he was "looking forward” to the UK remaining within the European Union.
"I would note that one of the great values of having the United Kingdom in the European Union is its leadership and strength on a whole host of global challenges,” Obama said.
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