The NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said earlier that “Russia is attacking Ukraine”.

“We are faced with a dramatically changed security environment. To the east, Russia is attacking Ukraine,” he told reporters on arrival for the NATO summit outside the Welsh city of Newport.

When asked about the plans of Russian President Vladimir Putin for a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, Rasmussen said that NATO welcomed any effort to find a peaceful solution, but what counted was what happened on the ground in Ukraine.

Moscow denies it has troops in Ukraine but NATO argues Russia has more than 1,000 soldiers in the country.

He said he was sure NATO would consider seriously any request from the Iraqi government for assistance in dealing with Islamic State militants.

The NATO summit began this morning and is attended by about 60 leaders of countries. The main topics of discussion are expected to be the Ukrainian crisis and the situation in Iraq and Syria.