Jeremy Corbyn has vowed to hold talks with his shadow defence secretary following an apparent row over his stance on the use of British troops in Estonia.
Corbyn said he would speak to Nia Griffith after reports suggested they were at odds over the dispatch of 800 soldiers to Estonia as part of a Nato mission.
Griffith was said to be “furious” after Corbyn’s spokesman said the leader was concerned the mission could contribute to an “escalation of tensions” in the Eastern European nation..
Today, however, Corbyn said he would seek out his shadow cabinet colleague to discuss the situation on the border between Estonia, a Nato member, and Russia.
“I want to see a de-militarisation of the border between them. I’m sure everybody wants that, we don’t want to see increased tensions,” Corbyn told BBC Wales.
“I had a chat with Nia briefly last night and we are having a longer discussion later on today.”
Corbyn’s intervention came after a Guardian report which claimed Griffith had been angered by the comments of an aide to the leader yesterday.
When Corbyn’s spokesman was asked if Labour supported Theresa May’s decision to send the troops to Estonia, he said: “What we don’t want to see is a ratcheting up of tensions between Russia and the West, as has been taking place. We want to see an engagement with Russia – on a critical basis, but a serious basis…
“We’ve said repeatedly that we want talks and engagement to wind down military tensions, particularly on the Nato-Russian border and in the Middle East. Jeremy has expressed concerns about that being one of the escalations of tensions that have taken place.”
Griffith, who has been seen as supportive of Corbyn, had previously struck a strongly supportive note over the use of British service men and women. She told Forces TV, the broadcaster for troops, that it was “very important that we now play a very strong role in Nato, particularly as we are leaving the European Union.”
Corbyn handed Griffith the defence brief in his post-conference reshuffle in October when Clive Lewis was moved to shadow the business secretary.
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