NATO leaders appear to be on track for an agreement to more than double their target for defense spending — to 5 percent of annual economic output — by using some creative number-crunching to please President Donald Trump,

Some may ask if Mark Rutte's proposal to deter Russian aggression has at least a little to do with appeasing the US president, writes Jonathan Beale.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday he was confident that members of the NATO alliance would sign up to Donald Trump's demand for a major boost in defence spending, adding that it had to happen by a summit later in June.

NATO defense ministers are proposing a 5% annual investment in defense spending by member nations to enhance defensive capabilities during a meeting in Brussels on Thursday.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte says that most allies endorse President Donald Trump’s demand that they invest 5% of gross domestic product on their security needs

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth expressed confidence that NATO allies will agree to increase the minimum defense spending requirement, which the Trump administration has advocated. Since his first administration,