Live Updates | NATO allies pledge to spend 2% of GDP on their militaries, but set no timetable

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — NATO allies are pledging to spend at least 2% of their gross domestic product on their national military budgets but have set no timeframe for achieving the goal. After Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, the organization agreed to halt spending cuts they had made after the Cold War and move toward spending 2% of GDP on defense within a decade. At their summit in Lithuania, the leaders set that percentage as a floor, rather than a ceiling for spending. But only 11 of the 31 NATO member countries are likely to reach that goal this year, according to the alliance’s latest estimates.