Biden praises Germany's 'historic' decision to boost defence spending

US President Joe Biden has thanked German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for Berlin's recent "historic" decision to raise defence spending, the White House said after their one-on-one talks ended at the G7 summit.

"The president welcomed Germany's historic commitment to significantly boost defence spending and meet its NATO commitments, which will strengthen the alliance’s long-term deterrence and defense posture," a White House statement said.

In late February, Scholz announced a massive increase to bring Germany in line with NATO's target of spending 2% of GDP on defence, as Berlin rethinks foreign policy amid Russia's war on Ukraine.

"The leaders underlined their commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as their continued provision of military, economic, humanitarian, and diplomatic support to help Ukraine defend its democracy against Russian aggression," the White House added.