NATO foreign ministers have wrapped up two days of talks focusing on the future of missions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo, as well as prospects for peace in the Middle East and the situation in Sudan's Darfur region.
The informal summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, represented the alliance's first major meeting on territory once occupied by the Soviet Union.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the 25 other NATO ministers Thursday offered more political and military assistance to Ukraine's pro-western government, but did not set a target date for the former Soviet state to join the alliance.
In Darfur, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop said the alliance stands ready to provide support to the African Union, if asked to do so.
NATO ministers also signed a landmark military agreement with Russia that will ease the transport of NATO troops through Russian territory and vice-versa.
Information for this report is provided by Reuters.
