The debate on defense spending is heating up ahead of a summit of U.S. President Donald Trump and his NATO counterparts in the Netherlands on June 24-25. It’s a high-level gathering that will set the course for future European security, including that of Ukraine.

NATO foreign ministers on Thursday debated an American demand to massively ramp up defense investment as the United States focuses on security challenges outside of Europe.

Germany on Thursday backed U.S. President Donald Trump's demand to more than double NATO's defence spending target to 5% of GDP, as Washington urged countries to eliminate any "weak links" in the alliance caused by a lack of military investment.