NATO's Stoltenberg tells Russia to stop backing rebels in east Ukraine

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks at a news conference during the NATO Summit in Warsaw, Poland, July 9, 2016. Agencja Gazeta/Adam Stepien/via REUTERS

WARSAW (Reuters) - Ukraine won promises of continued support at a NATO summit on Saturday but the prospect of Kiev's eventual membership of the U.S.-led military alliance seemed as distant as ever as the West seeks a tentative rapprochement with Russia.

NATO agreed during the two-day Warsaw summit to boost its eastern flank in response to Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and Moscow's subsequent backing for rebels fighting Kiev troops in east Ukraine.