NATO Announces 'Rapid-Reaction Force,' As It Waits For Cease-Fire In Ukraine

By Eyder Peralta / NPR

Published September 5, 2014 at 12:55 AM PDT

This story was published more than 9 years ago.

President Obama stands alongside British Prime Minister David Cameron, center left, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, second left, Croatian President Ivo Josipovic, left, Romanian President Traian Basescu, right, and RAF Group Captain David Bentley, second right, during a flypast at the NATO summit at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales on Friday.

On the second and final day of their meeting in Wales, members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are expected to announce more aid to Ukraine.

NPR's Ari Shapiro tells our Newscast unit that the allies are also discussing the Islamic State. Ari filed this report for our Newscast unit:

"Yesterday this summit focused on diagnosing the challenges facing NATO, while today is focused on solutions."That means we're likely to see more specific commitments emerge today on how NATO plans to counter Russia, and the Islamic State. "British Prime Minister David Cameron is the summit host. 'To the east, Russia is ripping up the rulebook with its annexation of Crimea and its troops on sovereign soil in Ukraine,' Cameron said. 'To the south, an arc of instability bends from North Africa to the Middle East.' "Cameron urged the alliance to set up a so-called spearhead force that could deploy anywhere in the world on short notice. "But that costs money, and he says many NATO member states have not met their financial commitments."

On Ukraine, NATO is also watching a proposed cease-fire very closely. As The Guardian reports, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said today that he had come to an agreement with a major rebel leader to freeze troops at midday Friday. That's one part of the seven-point peace plan outlined by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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The Guardian adds:

"At a press conference with the Nato secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Poroshenko said he hoped the ceasefire would happen, but he remained suspicious because Putin had proposed it. "Rasmussen said he had seen similar moves before by Russia that had been smokescreens, but he would welcome a serious political settlement. "Poroshenko said that provided a peace meeting in Minsk planned for Friday between Russia, Ukraine and the European security organisation the OSCE goes ahead as planned, he would call a halt to Ukrainian military attempts to regain territory held by the separatists. 'I will call on the general staff to set up a bilateral ceasefire,' he said."

Russia Today reports that representatives from the People's Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk — in other words, the Russian-backed separatists — have arrived at Minsk for the talks.