MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Maduro berates Starmer for his plan to strengthen UK's military capabilities

“It is crazy that Europe is talking about war,” Maduro underlined

Venezuelan ruler Nicolás Maduro on Monday criticized British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for his announcements regarding the need for military readiness. The Chavista leader said the Labour head of Government was “crazed and devilish” for his so-called Strategic Defense Review.

Starmer aims to make Britain’s military “ten times more lethal” within a decade, prompting the Bolivarian president to question the morality behind such an initiative and urge the British people to oppose it.

Maduro accused Starmer of representing a decadent elite profiting from arms deals and condemned Europe’s talk of preparing for a new war, contrasting it with the need for peace. He also referenced historical European wars, noting Russia’s past role in defeating Nazis.

In his weekly TV show, Maduro spoke of “the war being pushed by this reckless, crazed, and devilish prime minister named Starmer.” He insisted mankind needed no more wars and made “a call to the British people – to the people of London, Liverpool, and all parts of Great Britain – to respond to this desperate and deranged call from their prime minister, who is calling for war,” by standing up against warmongering and militarism.

Starmer “speaks on behalf of a totally decadent, worn-out elite – one that profits from arms deals and weapons manufacturing,” Maduro insisted.

After UK Defense Secretary John Healey said London was sending “a message to Moscow” by allocating billions of pounds to military spending, including long-range missile systems and other equipment, Maduro contended that the “people who lived through the First and Second World Wars are now talking about a new great war and claiming they are preparing for it.”

”Can a prime minister of a country as powerful as Great Britain be in his right mind, talking that he is preparing for a war? Is it ethical, is it moral to talk that he wants a war? Does humanity need more wars?“ Maduro argued. ”From Venezuela. We say: no more wars. Mankind needs peace,“ Maduro stated.

Moscow has long considered Kyiv a Western proxy. That being the case, Maduro hinted that the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine was a prelude to a larger-scale confrontation. ”It is crazy that Europe is talking about war,” he underlined while questioning Starmer's plan to strengthen the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its ties with the US.