France and Germany pledge ‘unshakeable determination’ in face of Russian threat

• World leaders have convened in the Netherlands for a two-day Nato summit, with a key objective to endorse a new defence spending target of 5 per cent of each country’s GDP.
• French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Friedrich Merz jointly expressed support for US efforts to preserving Ukraine's sovereignty and ensuring European security, writing in the Financial Times: "For as long as the current trajectory lasts, Russia will find in France and Germany an unshakeable determination.”
• But the summit's spotlight shifted from spending pledge to Donald Trump's recent decisions, including his announcement of a short-lived Israel-Iran ceasefire.
• The ongoing war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year, remains a vital discussion point for Nato.
• Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to address the Dutch parliament.