Spain obtained an exemption from NATO’s ambitious defense spending target of 5% of GDP after several days of diplomatic wrangling that drew scorn from Donald Trump, right before leaders of the military alliance gather on Tuesday.

Spain reached a deal with NATO to be excluded from a 5% of GDP defense spending target, days before the military alliance's leaders will gather at a summit, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Sunday.

Nato decisions are only taken by consensus. Sánchez’s opt-out rests on a change in the text from “we” to “allies” in the sentence referring to the pledge to spend 5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2035, said two officials involved in the negotiations.