Kerry: NATO countries to increase efforts against Islamic State

BRUSSELS, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told a NATO foreign affairs meeting in Brussels he expects bloc members to increase their involvement in defeating the Islamic State.

He did not list specific examples of military assistance or humanitarian aid, instead, leaving them to upcoming announcements by individual countries.

"We are going to defeat the efforts by these nihilistic, semi-criminal -- not semi-criminal, completely criminal -- and abhorrent activities that are challenging civil life itself," Kerry said.

During the two-day meeting, NATO expressed its support for Turkey after a Russian plane was shot down by the Turkish air force, and strengthened its Balkan presence by inviting Montenegro to join the defense partnership.

Both actions angered Russia, which has begun economic sanctions against Turkey, but Kerry said neither would complicate efforts to involve Russia in ending the civil war in Syria. Russia has loyalties to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while many Western countries favor Assad's removal.

"NATO allies are united and have a strong sense of mutual purpose. We know what we have to do, and we are going to do it," Kerry said in his speech, as tweeted by the U.S. mission to NATO Twitter account.