FILE PHOTO: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks to the media on the day of the NATO defence ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium June 13, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -More than 20 NATO members will meet the alliance's target of allocating at least 2% of GDP to defense this year, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday, highlighting how allies have raised military spending since Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
Stoltenberg told U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House that the number of NATO allies now meeting that spending target compares to less than 10 members five years ago.
