NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg 'Fully Supports' Ukraine Peace Bid

NATO head Jens Stoltenberg said today he fully supports efforts by the French and German leaders to secure a peaceful resolution to the now "critical" crisis in Ukraine.

"The situation is very serious, it's critical and it's urgent and therefore I fully support the new attempts by Chancellor (Angela) Merkel and President (Francois) Hollande to find a political solution," Mr Stoltenberg said.

Mr Stoltenberg, speaking on arrival at the Munich Security Conference, said the Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine had made large gains in recent weeks with the help of a substantial increase in supplies.

The upsurge in fighting, which has now claimed more than 5,300 lives, only highlighted the seriousness of the situation and the importance of securing a political solution, he said.

There have been growing calls in Washington to supply Kiev with weapons to push back the rebels and Mr Stoltenberg was asked if there should be such military pressure.

He did not answer directly, instead saying that NATO was doing two things - offering full political and practical support for Ukraine, while also beefing up its own military resources.

On Thursday, Mr Stoltenberg chaired a meeting of NATO defence ministers which finalised details of a new very rapid response force designed to meet the sort of threat posed by Russian intervention in Ukraine.

It also approved plans to set up advance command posts in key eastern European members Poland, Romania, Bulgaria plus the Baltic states, so that the new force could hit the ground running if called on.

Ms Merkel and Mr Hollande are due in Moscow later Friday with a new initiative they discussed Thursday in Kiev with President Petro Poroshenko.