With unity on the line, NATO leaders gather for historic summit

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — NATO leaders were gathering in the Netherlands on Tuesday for the start of a historic two-day summit that could unite the world’s biggest security organization around a new defense spending pledge or widen divisions among the 32 allies.

The allies are likely to endorse a goal of spending 5% of their gross domestic product on their security, to be able to fulfill the alliance’s plans for defending against outside attack. Still, Spain has said it cannot, and that the target is “unreasonable.” President Donald Trump has said the U.S. should not have to.

Slovakia said that it reserves the right to decide how to reach the target by NATO’s new 2035 deadline.

“We are not living in happy land after the Berlin Wall came down. We are living in much more dangerous times and there are enemies, adversaries who might want to attack us,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said ahead of the summit in The Hague.

“We have to make sure that we defend our beautiful way of life and systems and our values,” he said.

Ahead of the two-day meeting, Britain, France and Germany committed to the 5% goal. Host country the Netherlands is also onboard. Nations closer to the borders of Ukraine, Russia and its ally Belarus had previously pledged to do so.

“I think it’s going to be successful. We’ll see,” Trump said, as he left the United States for the summit.

Trump’s first appearance at NATO since returning to the White House was supposed to center on how the U.S. secured the historic military spending pledge from others in the security alliance — effectively bending it to its will.