介绍:
NATO members are expected to announce a raft of fresh sanctions against Russia over its role in the Ukraine situation as the leaders are meeting in the UK for a two-day summit. Western countries have also made it clear they won't intervene militarily. CRI's Cao Yuwei has more.
More than 60 world leaders are meeting in the UK amid what is being described as Europe's most serious security crisis in a number of years.
At a special session to address the crisis in Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says the alliance has established "a comprehensive and tailored package of measures" to help Ukraine.
"We will focus on cyber-defence, logistics and command control and communications. We will also help with rehabilitation for troops injured in the conflict. We will provide advice to help Ukraine with defence reforms."
This will see NATO providing Ukraine with 15 million euros of assistance, including supports for logistics, rehabilitation for injured troops, cyber defense and communications.
Though western countries have backed Kiev with words and economic sanctions on Moscow, NATO have also made clear that they will not fight to protect Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the NATO summit has also touched upon Afghanistan, with Rasmussen promising "enduring" support to the country, despite NATO's impending pull-out at the end of the year.
"Today we renewed our financial commitment to support the sustainment of the Afghanistan forces. And we reaffirm today our commitment to an enduring partnership between NATO and Afghanistan."
The rival presidential candidates in Afghanistan have pledged to NATO leaders that they will form a unity government and sign legal agreements that allow foreign troops to stay on next year.
At the same time, summit host, UK Prime Minister David Cameron, is under mounting domestic pressure, with extremists from the Islamic State threatening to kill a British man they are holding hostage.
In a public statement ahead of the Summit, Cameron says he is personally supervising the efforts to secure the release of the British hostage.
But he insists his government will not be paying a ransom.
"This terrorist organization and indeed others around the world have made tens of millions of dollars from these ransoms and they spend that money on arming themselves, on kidnapping more people and on plotting terrorist outrages including in our own country. It is a difficult decision to make but I'm convinced it is the right decision. "
At the same time, Cameron says he's not ruling out military action against the Islamic State.
The summit ends later today.
For CRI, I'm Cao Yuwei
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