World leaders to meet Ukraine's President before NATO summit

PanARMENIAN.Net - World leaders are due to meet Ukraine's President before the NATO summit gets under way in Wales, BBC News reports.

Petro Poroshenko will update U.S. and EU leaders after discussions with Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

France has ramped up the pressure on Putin by suspending delivery of two navy assault ships to Russia. President Francois Hollande signalled a toughening of European policy towards Russia on Wednesday, Sept 3, by cancelling a military deal worth 1.2bn euros ($1.6bn).

Some 2,600 people have been killed in five months. The West says it has evidence that Putin is supporting the pro-Russian militias with training and arms, but Russia denies this. The conflict has forced more than a million people from their homes in eastern Ukraine, according to latest United Nations estimates.

The two-day NATO summit is expected to be dominated by the crisis in Ukraine, but leaders will also discuss the rise of Islamic State and Afghanistan.

Poroshenko will brief UK PM David Cameron, U.S. President Barack Obama and the leaders of France, Italy and Germany.

The BBC says the summit is NATO's most important for decades, with its leaders faced to ask if the alliance is really equipped to deal with 21st century challenges.

The alliance is expected to approve plans to create a rapid response force composed of several thousand troops from member states, able to deploy within 48 hours.

European leaders are also set to discuss a new round of tougher economic sanctions on Russia.