Hegseth says Nato allies ‘very close’ to raising defence spending target to 5%

Pete Hegseth said he was ‘very encouraged’ by what he heard at a meeting of defence ministers. Photograph: Virginia Mayo/AP

The US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, said Nato allies were “very close, almost near consensus” to an agreement to significantly raise targets for defence spending to 5% of GDP in the next decade.

The Trump administration official indicated he expected the increased target to be agreed at a summit in The Hague later this month – and confirmed that the headline figure was to be split into two parts.