WATCH LIVE: Pentagon holds news briefing as NATO’s Stoltenberg visits U.S.

Pentagon press secretary Pat Ryder will hold a news briefing as NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg visits the United States.

The event is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET. Watch in the player above.

On Monday, Stoltenberg met at the White House with President Joe Biden. The U.S. president said the NATO alliance has become “larger, stronger and more united than it’s ever been” during Stoltenberg’s tenure.

Biden spoke affectionately of Stoltenberg, calling him “pal” and saying he wished that Stoltenberg, who has been NATO’s secretary general since 2014, could serve another term when the current one expires in October.

“Together, we’ve deterred further Russian aggression in Europe,” Biden said. “We’ve strengthened NATO’s eastern flank ,making it clear that we’ll defend every single inch of NATO territory.”

Stoltenberg noted that allies were buying more military equipment from the U.S. “So NATO is good for U.S. security, but NATO is also good for U.S. jobs.” he said.

NATO members agreed last year to spend at least 2% of their gross domestic product on defense. The surge in spending reflects the worries about the war in Ukraine.

Poland, at more than 4%, and tiny Estonia both lead the United States this year in the percentage of their GDP they spend on defense. Both countries border Russia.

Defense spending across European allies and Canada was up nearly 18% this year alone, the biggest increase in decades, according to NATO’s estimated figures released Monday.

Some countries also are concerned about the possible reelection of former President Donald Trump, who has characterized many NATO allies as freeloading on U.S. military spending and said on the campaign trail that he would not defend NATO members that don’t meet defense spending targets.

“Shifting U.S. administrations have had the absolutely valid point to say that U.S. allies are spending too little,” Stoltenberg told reporters. “The good news is that’s changing.”

Stoltenberg’s visit is laying the groundwork for what’s expected to be a pivotal summit of NATO leaders in Washington next month. The mutual-defense alliance has grown in strength and size since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago, with both Sweden and Finland joining.