NATO said on Tuesday it will suspend "all practical civilian and military cooperation" with Russia because of Moscow's occupation and annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region.
The decision was taken by NATO foreign ministers who urged Russia in a statement "to take immediate steps ... to return to compliance with international law."
NATO and Ukraine announced in a joint statement after their ministers met in Brussels that they would intensify cooperation and promote defense reforms in Ukraine through training and other programs.
This comes after Russia warned Ukraine against integration with NATO, saying Kiev's previous attempts to move closer to the defense alliance had had unwelcome consequences.
"(Past attempts) led to a freezing of Russian-Ukrainian political contacts, a headache between NATO and Russia and ... to a division in Ukrainian society," the Russian Foreign Ministry said on the same day as NATO foreign ministers were meeting in Brussels.
Also on Tuesday, NATO's secretary general said he had seen no evidence that Russia is withdrawing its forces from the border with Ukraine.
"Unfortunately, I cannot confirm that Russia is withdrawing its troops," Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.
"This is not what we are seeing."
Rasmussen said Russia had undermined the principles on which a NATO-Russia partnership had been built, and that as a result there could be no more "business as usual".
Germany's Merkel:
A reduction of troop strength at the eastern Ukrainian border ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin is not enough, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday, adding there were still too many soldiers in the area.
"It is clearly not the last step that needs to be taken because the troop concentration on the Ukrainian border is very high," Merkel told reporters during a news conference.
In a gesture that could ease tension in the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War, Russia on Monday pulled some troops back from near Ukraine's frontier, a move the United States said would be a positive sign if it was confirmed as a withdrawal.
Poland's Tusk:
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday that the pace at which NATO increases its military presence in Poland was unsatisfactory.
"We are gaining something step by step, but the pace of NATO increasing its military presence for sure could be faster. You remember the endless debates about the missile shield, with mediocre results," Tusk told a press conference.
"This is a unsatisfactory result for us," he said, commenting on earlier statements by Polish foreign minister, who said he would be fully satisfied if NATO located two heavy brigades in Poland.
"We will act to increase NATO military forces in Poland, but we are aware that some time will pass before it becomes a fact," Tusk said.
REUTERS