NATO leaders to back Trump defence spending goal at Hague summit

(Reuters) - NATO leaders gathered in The Hague on Wednesday for a summit tailor-made for U.S. President Donald Trump, with European allies hoping a pledge to hike defence spending will prompt him to dispel doubts about his commitment to the alliance.

The summit is expected to endorse a higher defence spending goal of 5% of GDP - a response to a demand by Trump and to Europeans' fears that Russia poses a growing threat to their security following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte acknowledged that it was not easy for countries to find the extra money but said it was vital to do so.

"There is absolute conviction with my colleagues at the table that, given this threat from the Russians, given the international security situation, there is no alternative," he told reporters.

DEBATE OVER NATO MUTUAL DEFENCE PLEDGE

NATO officials are hoping the conflict between Israel and Iran and the U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear sites at the weekend will not overshadow the gathering, hosted by Rutte in his home city.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb, whose country borders Russia and joined NATO two years ago, said the alliance was evolving.

"I think we're witnessing the birth of a new NATO, which means a more balanced NATO and a NATO which has more European responsibility," he told reporters.

Trump has threatened not to protect NATO members if they fail to meet spending targets and again raised doubts about his commitment on his way to the summit by avoiding directly endorsing the alliance's Article 5 mutual defence clause.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, he said there were "numerous definitions" of the clause. "I'm committed to saving lives. I'm committed to life and safety. And I'm going to give you an exact definition when I get there," he said.

The new spending target - to be achieved over the next 10 years - is a jump worth hundreds of billions of dollars a year from the current goal of 2% of GDP, although it will be measured differently.

Countries would spend 3.5% of GDP on core defence - such as troops and weapons - and 1.5% on broader defence-related measures such as cyber security, protecting pipelines and adapting roads and bridges to handle heavy military vehicles.

All NATO members have backed a statement enshrining the target, although Spain declared it does not need to meet the goal and can meet its commitments by spending much less.

Rutte disputes that but accepted a diplomatic fudge with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez as part of his efforts to give Trump a diplomatic victory and make the summit go smoothly.

Trump displayed the extent of those efforts on Tuesday by publishing a private message in which Rutte lavished praise on him and congratulated him on "decisive action in Iran".

"You will achieve something NO American president in decades could get done," Rutte told Trump. "Europe is going to pay in a BIG way as they should, and it will be your win."

Rutte has also kept the summit and its final statement short and focused on the spending pledge to try to avert any friction with Trump.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had to settle for attending the pre-summit dinner on Tuesday evening rather than a the main meeting on Wednesday, although Trump said they would probably meet separately.

Zelenskiy and his aides have said they want to talk to Trump about buying U.S. weapons including Patriot missile defence systems and increasing pressure on Moscow through tougher sanctions.

The Kremlin accused NATO of being on a path of rampant militarisation and portraying Russia as a "fiend of hell" in order to justify its big increase in defence spending.

NATO defense spending: The US is NATO's single biggest defense spender https://reut.rs/405PSuq

NATO defense spending: Most NATO countries meet the alliance’s target for defense spending https://reut.rs/4jV1t6H

(Additional reporting by Lili Bayer, Anthony Deutsch, Bart Meijer, Stephanie van den Berg and John Irish;Writing by Andrew Gray and Keith Weir; Editing by Kevin Liffey)