The heads of state of the so-called Bucharest Nine, which comprises Eastern countries of NATO, discussed several issues related to the impact of ongoing Russian military aggression in Ukraine, specifically on the Central European region, on Tuesday, June 6, in Bratislava, Slovakia. The aim of the B9 informal meeting was to coordinate a common course of action ahead of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
They placed particular emphasis on enhanced integrated air and missile defense capabilities and expressed support for new Alliance plans for modernized collective defense. The leaders consider Ukraine’s possible membership in NATO as a security guarantee against Russian expansionism.
The B9 group was created on the initiative of the presidents of Poland and Romania in 2015 after Russia’s occupation of Crimea. Recently, it has played an important role in mobilizing NATO countries to accelerate support for Ukraine, as well as in defining the needs to be provided to Kyiv.
This year’s event was attended by the presidents of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. Bulgaria was represented by the Vice-President. The Secretary-General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, also took part in the meeting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky joined the meeting via video transmission.
