Britain’s Baltic defense club falls flat on military spending pledge

At an appearance in Tallinn, Starmer excused himself from the Q&A part of a Monday evening debate with Estonia's Michal and Norway's Støre, then was seen roaming in the venue's lobby with aides leaving the two leaders to take questions from the floor. "The Nordic and Baltic states are crying out for more U.K. leadership," said Ed Arnold from the Royal United Services Institute think tank, adding the "the agenda was unambitious" with a "lack of urgency." The British-led JEF grouping was set up in 2014 at NATO's summit in Wales and designed as a trip wire to respond to any conflict in the Baltic region. It was also a convenient platform for patching in Sweden and Finland before they joined NATO.