U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday said the U.S was committed to bolstering NATO’s easter flank as a summit began in the Romanian capital.
Bucharest Nine
The Bucharest Nine summit is hosted by President Klaus Iohannis and Polish President Andrzej Duda.
“The US is committed to defending NATO’s eastern flank, bolstering the region’s energy security, and working together to support Ukraine,” said a message from the American president.
President Iohannis said Romania “aims to adopt a strategic concept that prioritizes collective defense, defines Russia as a threat to NATO and strengthens the Alliance at all levels, in order to meet the challenges.”
Russia’s war
President Iohannis called the summit “more relevant than ever, as we are faced with the consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine. We will address security developments in the region and the importance of consolidating NATO’s posture on the eastern flank… in a unitary and balanced manner.”
Poland’s Duda said the most important task was to support Ukraine and work out a coherent strategy to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin.
„What is needed today is to support Ukraine, strengthen its deterrence force and defense, and to build a coherent strategy in order to halt Putin’s imperialism,” he told leaders.
He said the strategy had to be based on a synergy of actions taken by NATO and the EU, and involving the Bucharest Nine.
Ukraine
Referring to Russia’s attempts to expand its sphere of influence, the Polish president said he was convinced Ukraine could defend itself and repel Russia’s attack.
„But in order to avoid mistakes in the future, we have to find out how this has happened,” he said.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg joined the summit via a video link.
The Bucharest Nine (B9) format was launched in 2014 as a Polish-Romanian initiative aimed at coordinating positions and improving security between the nine countries across the Baltic and Black Sea regions which make up NATO’s eastern flank.
Members
Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia are the nine members.
NATO chief to travel to Romania for summit with regional leaders
