Leaders of NATO member states will welcome US President Donald Trump into their ranks for the first time on Thursday as they seek to appease the new president and get confirmation of his country's commitment to the alliance.
Trump's first NATO summit will be heavily scrutinised after he called the alliance "obsolete," demanded increased engagement in the fight against terrorism and threatened to withhold support unless other members stepped up defence spending.
In a move to appease Trump and gain assurances of US commitment to NATO, leaders are expected to announce that NATO is formally joining the US-led coalition against Daesh "the Islamic State extremist group", following a decision by allies Wednesday evening.
The decision is mainly political as all 28 NATO member states are already individually part of the coalition and NATO is already aiding the fight against terrorism through information sharing and by training local forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said before the summit that joining the coalition means that the alliance would continue its current work of training and assistance, stressing that there was "no discussion at all of engaging NATO in a combat role."
NATO countries will also reassure Trump of their commitment to increasing defence spending.
The summit will also be a first for newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron.
On the sidelines, Trump will have lunch with Macron and meet with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
Juncker and Tusk are also scheduled to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Macron.
