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While NATO moves cautiously to avoid escalating tensions with Russia, President Vladimir Putin matter-of-factly reiterated the possibility of military action today, saying that Russia would consider moving into eastern Ukraine to "protect" the local population.

鈥淲e know quite well that we must do our best to protect their rights and help them independently decide their fate and we will struggle for that,鈥� Mr. Putin said during his annual call-in television show. 鈥淚 remind you that the Federation Council of Russia [the upper house of Parliament] empowered the president to use the armed forces in Ukraine.鈥�

Ukrainian political scientist Vadim Karasyov told the Los Angeles Times that Putin's comments suggest that an armed intervention is a "looming reality."

His statements come as NATO moves carefully into countries on Russia's western border in response to demands from member states' for greater protection. They also come as Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his new Ukrainian counterpart聽Andriy Deschystia meet for the first time, along with US Secretary of State John Kerry and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, to work on a diplomatic solution.

To reassure nervous Baltic states, NATO announced Wednesday that it would bolster its activity in the area, but it refused Poland's request for a permanent base. The elevated NATO presence in eastern Europe will last at least through the end of the year, Reuters reports.聽

But what Mr. Rasmussen outlined Wednesday were defensive steps to reassure and protect former Soviet states who are now members of NATO, Reuters notes. He gave no indication that there was any planning for an offensive action. Baltic leaders appeared pleased with the decision.聽

According to Reuters, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said, "It corresponds to the current situation in the region and takes into account potential risks. I don't think this decision will escalate the situation. Those who expected big bases, maybe (they) will say it is not enough, but ... the response is adequate to the current situation."

The Wall Street Journal casts the additional deployment as a result of a shift from 鈥渧iewing Russia as a partner to treating it as an adversary.鈥澛�

鈥淣ATO leaders say it is clear the rules of the game have changed in Europe now that a country has used military force to change international borders for the first time in years,鈥� the Journal reports.

But avoiding further escalation still appears to be NATO 's top priority. NATO military commander Gen. Philip Breedlove said Wednesday, referring to the additional deployment, "It will be very hard to see them as anything except defensive measures they are designed to reassure our allies.鈥� He said he would speak to his Russian counterpart to "avoid military misinterpretation."

He also said that Poland's demand that the international alliance establish a permanent base there would have to be considered, according to the Journal.

"I do believe we need to consider expanding the number of our air-policing bases," he said. "I think we need the capacity and capability to do this in broader terms across our alliance."

At the core of NATO鈥檚 decision not to intervene in Ukraine while circling its wagons around many of its neighbors is Article 5, which states that NATO will take action if any of its members are threatened. The Baltics and Poland are members; Ukraine is not.

Time Magazine argues that a purely defensive strategy, and one resting on a narrowly defined mission, will leave NATO on the sidelines again as Russia barrels through international norms.