NATO summit in Wales: What should we expect?

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- From wars in Ukraine and Afghanistan to the fast-spreading spectre of ISIS in the Middle East, it's no wonder that this week's NATO summit in Wales is being called "the most important gathering of NATO leaders in more than a decade."

NATO leaders arriving in Cardiff will have a host of issues to deal with, so what should we expect?

In short, we should see a return to NATO's core mission of facing a re-emerging security threat from the east.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's push in to Ukraine has the 28-nation alliance focused on action -- and that goes double for NATO's new members in the east, including Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

But the 65-year-old alliance's worries aren't limited to Eastern Europe. ISIS, the terror group that has declared an independent state in Iraq and Syria in recent months, is threatening to spew violent ultra-jihadists on to NATO members' streets.

And Afghanistan, NATO's biggest overseas commitment of troops, is in flux, so adjustments are required there as combat troops prepare to depart at the end of the year.

Last -- but by no means least -- as NATO looks to its future, it wants to build on its past. The alliance will seek to use lessons it has learned in nation-building to create advisory and training teams in a drive to carve out a role as a global security hub.

Return to core mission

A rapid or readiness action plan will emerge and will likely include much of the following:

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NATO summit in Wales: What should we expect?