The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s two-day summit started in the Netherlands on Tuesday with over 9,000 people expected to attend, according to Dutch officials. With 45 world leaders in attendance, the summit’s top focuses are the alliance’s commitment to defense spending and the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

President Donald Trump spoke on Wednesday at a press conference after brokering a defense spending agreement among the alliance’s member countries. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are some of the leaders who have appeared publicly the most throughout the summit.

Recommended Stories

• Budget could provide another flashpoint between DeSantis, House
• More fear budget bill will just add crushing debt
• JD Vance flips middle finger, jokes about 'pink-haired' opponents during Ohio Republicans dinner

Here is everything to know about this year’s NATO summit.

Where is it?

NATO’s summit is at the World Forum building in The Hague, Netherlands, this year. This is the first NATO summit in the Netherlands.

On Tuesday, authorities suspected sabotage when a fire broke out at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, where more than 45 world leaders were expected to fly in that day. Roughly 30 airport rail system cables caught fire early Tuesday morning. This rail system typically shuttles travelers along the 30-mile commute to The Hague from the airport. NATO and Dutch officials are investigating the possibility of arson.

Who is attending?

All 32 NATO heads of state, members of the European Union, and representatives of Ukraine will be in attendance. President Donald Trump is among those leaders, and he headed to the summit amid the conflict between Israel and Iran.

Zelenskyy also attended as tensions between Russia and Ukraine loom over the summit. Newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also joined the gathering. Signaling that tensions may be easing between Canada and the United States, Carney said on CNN during the summit Tuesday that the president is no longer interested in making Canada America’s 51st state.

What is on the agenda?

Defense will be the summit’s main focus, and leaders are expected to sign an agreement on spending a minimum of 5% of their country’s GDP on their respective defenses. The spending target includes a commitment by the governments to spend 3.5% of GDP on traditional military expenditures and 1.5% on a wider range of investments meant to increase collective security.

The summit will feature many defense-related meetings, such as a Defense Industry Forum on Tuesday. Rutte and Zelensky each spoke at the forum, where Zelensky made his country’s needs clear and thanked NATO for its continued partnership.

“We still need air defense, and we still have support in this direction from the partners and really count on continuation and also coproduction and big military support,” Zelensky said.

What is Zelensky doing?

Zelensky is being featured at several key events throughout the summit. On Tuesday, Rutte and Zelensky met with EU leaders. 

“[We will make sure] that you are so strong that Vladimir Putin will never ever again try to capture one square mile/kilometer of Ukraine,” Rutte said.

Leaders attended a NATO-Ukraine Council Dinner on Tuesday that provided additional opportunities to discuss the embattled country’s defence. The last event of the summit, which will take place on Wednesday at 4 p.m. local time, is a meeting among Rutte, Zelensky, and the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom, who make up what’s known as the E5. 

Who is Trump meeting with?

Trump spoke alongside Rutte on Wednesday at 9:55 a.m. local time. Zelensky also said he met with Trump on Wednesday for about 45 minutes. Trump has been the leader of the defense agreement that encouraged member nations to dedicate more of their GDP to defense spending, as he tries to balance how much aid the U.S. sends to Ukraine compared to the rest of the allies.

Trump made it to the summit on Tuesday night just in time for the Royal Dinner, during which King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands gave a speech. Because Trump skipped all other events on Tuesday, he has faced criticism in the media for prioritizing pageantry over diplomacy.

What is in this year’s declaration?

Before every annual NATO summit, a declaration is written stating the intentions of the alliance for the year and its commitments to one another. Each country must approve of the declaration before it can become official. This year’s declaration focuses on defense goals and the core commitments of NATO.

The declaration calls out Russia and its “long-term threat to Euro-Atlantic security,” as well as the global threat of terrorism. The declaration affirms one of NATO’s mottos: “An attack on one is an attack on all.”

TRUMP AND MARK RUTTE SHARE AWKWARD MOMENT AT SUMMIT AS NATO CHIEF CALLS HIM ‘DADDY’

The declaration also states the leaders’ intention to sign the GDP agreement and to accomplish these military spending goals by 2035. It also lays out how the 5% defense spending commitment should be broken down, and notes that each country’s spending will be reviewed in 2029. 

The declaration reestablishes the allied nations’ commitment to trans-Atlantic defense and partnership in general.