KYIV. July 10 (Interfax) - The events surrounding Ukraine have prompted NATO's role in the world to grow, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said.
"I'd like to stress that NATO's weight and role have been growing even more amid new challenges to international security in the context of the events surrounding Ukraine," Poroshenko said at a session of the NATO-Ukraine commission in Kyiv on Monday.
Russia's actions have prompted NATO to take a number of measures to improve security in the region, he said.
"I can even presume that NATO woke up, and this gave the alliance a second wind. Allies have become even more convinced of the need to consolidate all efforts for mutual protection and the importance of increasing defense spending and enlarging their presence in the world," he said.
It is symbolic that Ukraine is hosting a session of NATO partners on Monday as a country that has legislatively determined NATO membership as one of its foreign policy priorities, Poroshenko said.