NATO foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels to plot a new course after a "year of aggression" from Ukraine to the Middle East and the end of the alliance's combat mission in Afghanistan.
New chief Jens Stoltenberg said as he arrived on Tuesday that US Secretary of State John Kerry and other ministers from the 28-nation group would discuss how to "drive our alliance forward in a changing world".
"NATO must be strong today and strong tomorrow to deal with any challenges from the east or from the south," said the Norwegian, who took over from Denmark's Anders Fogh Rasmussen on October 1.
Stoltenberg said he expected four outcomes from the meeting: an agreement on boosting forces in the east to counter a rising Russia; a deal on an interim NATO quick reaction force; more support for Ukraine; and to sign off a deal on a support mission in Afghanistan.
He insisted NATO would continue to back Ukraine and pressed Russia to live up to its commitments after it backed a ceasefire and peace plan agreed between Kiev and pro-Moscow rebels in the Belarus capital Minsk in September.
"The challenge is that the separatists and Russia are not respecting" the Minsk accords, he said as he arrived for the meeting at NATO's Brussels HQ.
The NATO ministers' agenda will be topped by an interim rapid-reaction force capable of meeting the new and more unpredictable threats that the transatlantic alliance faces.
Accustomed to long-term threats, NATO's 28 leaders agreed at a September summit to launch a "spearhead" force of around 4000 troops by 2016 in response to new challenges of hybrid warfare and political upheaval.
But on Tuesday they will discuss an even faster, smaller force to be operational by early 2015, with Germany and the Netherlands willing to contribute troops.
Ministers will also review NATO efforts to reassure eastern members such as the Baltic states and Poland - once ruled from Moscow - by rotating aircraft, ships and troops through the region to demonstrate its commitment to their defence.
For Ukraine itself, the foreign ministers are expected to approve four trust funds to finance its military modernisation as government forces battle the rebels in a conflict which has claimed more than 4000 lives.
However, the question of NATO membership for Ukraine will be strictly off limits, diplomatic sources said.
Kiev's new government wants to restart the membership process interrupted by ousted leader Viktor Yanukovych - but President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly warned such a move would be an unacceptable threat to Russia's security.
"We want to avoid talking about that," one source said, adding: "Nobody thinks it is a good idea; it risks making things worse rather than calming them down."
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