NATO allies were divided Thursday on how soon, if ever, they could spend 5 percent of their national income on defense as President Trump has demanded, but the Pentagon chief confidently predicted “we’ll get them there,” potentially as soon as this month.
Torn between protecting against Russian aggressions and other spending priorities, defense officials from across the military alliance signaled at a meeting in Brussels that any agreement would be left to the leaders of NATO’s 32 member states when they meet in The Hague at the end of June.
The American defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, said there was “almost near consensus” Thursday within the alliance to boost military spending to 5 percent of each nation’s gross domestic product, up from 2 percent now. Mr. Trump has threatened to weaken American support for European security if allies do not shoulder more of the costs.
“There are a few countries that are not quite there yet,” Mr. Hegseth told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels. But, he said, “we’ll get them there.”
“When you consider the threats that we face, the urgency in the world, it’s critical,” Mr. Hegseth added.
The United States spends about 3.4 percent of its G.D.P. on defense but, as the alliance’s largest power, that amounts to far more money than any other NATO member. While Mr. Trump has proposed spending $1.01 trillion on defense for the fiscal year that begins in October, such spending would have to rise an additional $200 billion for the United States to reach the 5 percent benchmark, according to a recent estimate by the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Several NATO countries — mostly smaller states on the alliance’s eastern flank — are already spending above the current 2 percent goal and see higher spending as necessary to deter Russia.
“If we do not invest into hard defense and do it right now, it’s going to get only more expensive in the years to come,” said Lithuania’s defense minister, Dovile Sakaliene.
She said NATO intelligence predicts Moscow will be strong enough to threaten the alliance in the next few years. Without strong defenses, she said, “then maybe we start learning Russian.”
Other states bristled at suggestions they were not committed to NATO if unable to reach the 5 percent threshold.
“Look, in this moment, 2,000 Spanish soldiers are in the eastern flank, in Latvia and Estonia and Romania,” the Spanish defense minister, Margarita Robles, told reporters.
She said Spain, which is projected to spend 2 percent of G.D.P. on defense this year for the first time, “is one of the countries most committed with defense of NATO.”
Most, if not all, ministers on Thursday appeared to support a plan by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to allow 1.5 percent G.D.P. of the 5 percent benchmark to be spent on defense-related investments, such as technology and infrastructure, as opposed to weapons and military operations. Mr. Rutte said aid to Ukraine could also count as part of the overall 5 percent, as some countries are already doing.
NATO officials also suggested that member countries could develop their own timelines for reaching the 5 percent level, as opposed to doing so by 2032 as initially proposed. That is among the issues that will need to be resolved at the leaders’ summit in The Hague, which Mr. Rutte said he is trying to keep “very focused.”
Ahead of the spending decision, defense ministers agreed Thursday that fully protecting the alliance would require investing in more weapons and military capabilities. Mr. Rutte said that included air defense systems, fighter jets, tanks, drones, personnel, logistics and more.
“All of this is needed to keep our deterrence and defense strong, and our one billion people safe,” Mr. Rutte said.
Lara Jakes, based in Rome, reports on diplomatic and military efforts by the West to support Ukraine in its war with Russia. She has been a journalist for nearly 30 years.
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