BRUSSELS: The NATO foreign ministers have decided to suspend all civilian and military cooperation with Russia over the Ukraine issue.
The decision came at a meeting of foreign ministers from the 28 nations in Brussels. During the meeting, they also ordered military planners to draft measures to strengthen NATO defenses to reassure nervous Eastern European countries.
The move came after Russia’s fresh military build-up near its border with Ukraine.
Meanwhile, addressing a news conference after the meeting, the US Secretary of State John Kerry pledged an unwavering commitment to ensure security of the front line NATO allies.
The US secretary of state said that the United States has already deployed F-15 and F-16 fighters to perform air patrols over the Baltic and Poland.
Kerry said that the USS Truxtun, a guided-missile destroyer, has also been dispatched to the black sea while more military support is on the way.
