By refusing to agree spending increases to appease US President Donald Trump, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez threatens to derail a NATO summit that Secretary General Mark Rutte needs to run smoothly for the sake of the military alliance’s future survival.

By Anthony Deutsch THE HAGUE (Reuters) -Dutch politician Mark Rutte, appointed to navigate NATO's tricky relationship with Donald Trump, looks set to nail his first summit as secretary general after securing a draft agreement on boosting European defense spending as the U.

The secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, who has been in office for nine months, has strived to balance both the demands of the Trump administration and tension among Europeans.