His speech comes less than 24 hours after Putin was sworn in again as Russia’s president for the fifth time. During his inauguration speech in the Grand Kremlin Palace, Putin blamed the West for triggering his invasion of Ukraine and said that Russia needed to stay strong.

Another cause for concern is tensions in the Balkans, as he stated: “Kosovo and Serbia are at loggerheads.”

In an interview with The Telegraph in March, Albin Kurti, Kosovo’s prime minister, called for more Nato troops to be sent to Pristina to better protect it from Aleksandar Vucic, Serbia’s president, who he claims has an interest in retaking the country.

Despite such volatilities, Sir Tony insisted that “Nato is stepping up”.

“Since the 2014 Wales Summit, defence spending by Europe and Canada has increased by more than $600 billion,” he said.

“Our collective defence budget is three-and-a-half times more than Russia and China combined.”