US Defense Secretary Pete Haggett said NATO allies are close to reaching an agreement on defense spending that would satisfy President Donald Trump's demand for 5% of GDP.

The US leader is pressuring alliance members to announce a massive increase in their military budget targets at the June 24-25 meeting in The Hague, Netherlands, AFP reported.

“The countries there are well above 2% and we believe we are very close to a consensus on a 5% commitment for NATO in The Hague later this month,” Hegseth said after a meeting with NATO colleagues in Brussels.

NATO chief Mark Rutte proposed a compromise agreement of 3.5% of GDP for core military spending by 2032 and 1.5% for broader security-related areas such as infrastructure.

“We believe that within a few weeks, this alliance will commit to 5% - 3.5% for hard military targets and 1.5% for infrastructure and defense-related activities,” Hegseth said.

“This combination represents a real commitment, and we believe that every country can join in,” the US secretary added.

The threat from Russia after more than three years of war in Ukraine and concerns about the US commitment to European security under Trump are leading to increased military budgets in Europe.

Many diplomats said Rutte was close to securing agreement for the Hague summit, but several allies were still hesitant to commit to such spending levels.

Spain is the most vocal in its reluctance, as it will only reach the current NATO target of 2% of GDP by the end of this year.

Diplomats say other countries are also negotiating an extension and the removal of the requirement that core defense spending be increased by 0.2% each year.

But the deal seems like a decent compromise for most of them, letting Trump say he got what he wanted while actually lowering the bar for struggling European allies.

Currently, only a handful of NATO countries most concerned about the threat from Russia, such as Poland and the Baltic states, are on track to spend 5% on defense. | BGNES