The Hague [Netherlands], June 25: NATO leaders have arrived in The Hague for a summit hailed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz as historic and aimed at securing peace in Europe for future generations.
It is US President Donald Trump's first NATO summit since 2019 and all 32 leaders are set to commit to spending 5% of national output on defence and related infrastructure.
Ahead of his arrival, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte sent him a pre-summit message, lavishing praise on his handling of the Western alliance and the conflict in Iran.
"You are flying into another big success in The Hague this evening. It was not easy but we've got them all signed on to five percent," Rutte wrote, in a message posted by Trump on social media.
He also congratulated Trump on his "decisive action in Iran, which was truly extraordinary and something no one else dared to do. It makes us safer." Asked later if it was embarrassing that his private message had been shared, Rutte told the BBC there was "absolutely no problem - there was nothing in it that had to stay secret".
Western leaders have all had to navigate their relationships with Trump, known for his sometimes unpredictable handling of diplomacy. The two-day NATO summit has already been scaled back, apparently to accommodate his schedule.
The NATO secretary general earlier told his European colleagues to stop worrying about the US commitment to the Western alliance and focus on investing in defence and supporting Ukraine.
He insisted the US president and senior leadership had a "total commitment" to NATO, that came with an expectation of matching American military spending. Rutte said Europe and Canada had already committed to more than $35bn in military support for Ukraine this year.
NATO member states are expected to approve a major new investment plan which will raise the benchmark for defence investment to 5% of GDP.
Many of the allies are far below the commitment to spend 3.5% of GDP on defence by 2035, but the German government backed a budget deal on Tuesday to hit that target by 2029.
Some €62.4bn (£53bn) will be spent on defence in 2025, rising to €152.8bn in 2029, partly financed by debt and special funds.
Source: Qatar Tribune
