"We are calling on Russia to stop support for the separatists and to respect the Minsk Agreement and to use all its influence on the separatists to respect the ceasefire," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated at the opening ceremony of Defense Ministerial.

Stoltenberg announced that NATO was set to agree to a major boost in its defenses in Eastern Europe as a response to Russia"s role in the conflict in Ukraine.

" Everything we do, when it comes to increasing our own collective defense, by establishing an enhanced NATO Response Force and establishing the very high readiness force, the Spearhead Force, is something which is defensive, it is a response to what we are seeing from Russia over a period of time, and it is in full accordance with our international obligations. We decided last April after the crisis in Crimea that we suspended, NATO suspended all practical cooperation with Russia. But we decided to keep channels for political contact open."