NATO member states signed off on the military alliance’s most ambitious military ramp-up since the Cold War as leaders closed in on an agreement to ratchet up spending at a summit later this month.

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO defense ministers are set Thursday to approve purchasing targets for stocking up on weapons and military equipment to better defend Europe, the Arctic and the North Atlantic, as part of a U.S. push to ramp up security spending.

The U.S. defense secretary expressed optimism that allied countries would increase their defense budgets, a demand of President Trump’s.