BRUSSELS: US President Donald Trump launched a fresh attack on NATO allies`failure to raise defence spending on Thursday, prompting leaders to huddlein a special session excluding other summit participants, sources toldReuters.

At one point, in a break with diplomatic protocol, a source said Trumpaddressed German Chancellor Merkel by her first name and told her: “Angela,you need to do something about this.”

“We had a very intense summit,” Merkel herself told reporters after themeeting. Trump also prepared to make a previously unscheduled publicstatement, the White House said.

Invited leaders from non-NATO countries Afghanistan and Georgia were askedto leave along with most NATO leaders` retinues of officials, as the headsof state and government of the

Western alliance sought to deal with the man whose nation commands much ofthe budget and forces for Europe`s defence.

Trump had opened the first day of talks in Brussels on Wednesday with apublic diatribe against Germany, the second biggest state in the Westerndefence alliance, before the mood appeared to have calmed as the summitwent into its second day, focusing on operations beyond Europe.

But, several sources said, Trump instead reopened in strong terms hisdemand that other countries greatly speed up their progress toward a NATOtarget of spending at least two percent of their GDP on defence, which nowhas a deadline of 2024 with get-out terms available that can stretch it to2030.

“The language was much tougher today,” one source told Reuters. “Hisharshest words were directed at Germany, including by calling her Angela–`You, Angela.`”

As well as Merkel, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Charles Michel,the prime minister of Belgium, were also singled out by Trump forundershooting on their spending targets when US taxpayers, funding adefence budget worth about 3.6 percent of their national income, foot muchof NATO`s bills.

Breaking from a carefully scripted session that was to focus on Ukraine andGeorgia, one source said Trump “forcibly restated his position on wantingNATO members to reach 2 percent spending target to a short a deadline”.

Two NATO sources said, however, that Trump had not issued a threat to pullthe United States out of the alliance that it helped found to keep thepeace in Europe after World War Two.

*TWITTER DEMAND*

Leaders had gone into the second day, set to focus mainly on ending thelong war in Afghanistan, with low expectations, showing the extent ofEuropean frustration with Trump`s “America first” policies among the other28 members of the alliance.

Trump took to Twitter to say publicly what he told NATO leaders privatelyon Wednesday, calling on all allies to meet a commitment agreed in 2014 tospend 2 percent of economic output on defence to counter threats rangingfrom Russia`s military modernisation to militant attacks on European cities.

He also renewed a demand that they even double that — though many questionwhat they could usefully spend it on.

“All NATO Nations must meet their 2% commitment, and that must ultimatelygo to 4%!” Trump tweeted an hour before the second day of the summit gotunder way.

Despite the first day`s haranguing of allies for failing to meet spendingtargets and accusing Germany of being a prisoner to Russian energy, Trumpwas mild-mannered at a private dinner on Wednesday and avoided anyoutbursts that many NATO diplomats had feared.

“He was in a good mood, he said Europe was a continent he appreciated,”Luxembourg`s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel told reporters.

“We didn`t know what to expect, it was a positive outcome,” he said of thedinner in a Brussels park, where leaders were treated to an acrobaticdisplay and saxophone music.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the summit atmosphere was “muchcalmer than everyone had said” and he saw a will to maintain the unity ofthe alliance, while Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic said Trumpwas “constructive”. Agencies