Member states largely agreed to a U.S. demand to boost defense spending to 5% of gross domestic product. Trump, who once derided the alliance as a "rip-off," said his view had changed, while a budding bromance blossomed between him and Rutte, who compared the U.S. president to a stern "daddy" managing his geopolitical underlings.

The alliance’s summit will minimize references to either Russia or Ukraine to avoid antagonizing the U.S. president who has sided with the aggressor.

During the NATO summit in The Hague, Donald Trump changed his rhetoric for the first time and expressed strong support for the alliance and its defense mission, reports The Washington Post. According to three European officials,