Romanian President Nicusor Dan said Wednesday that Western allies must increase defense spending and develop a solid transatlantic military industrial base together at the opening of the B9 summit in Bucharest.
He said the one-day meeting was “an opportunity” to reaffirm Allies’ support for Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, “in actions not just statements.
“Our security depends on their security,” he said. NATO Allies have agreed to hiken spending to 5% of the national output, but many have yet to reach this figure despite Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine raising security concerns for NATO members.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were the top participants along with Polish President Karol Nawrocki.
Senior NATO and regional chiefs are in Bucharest for the meet which comes two months ahead of the NATO Summit in Ankara.
“We are close to Ukraine, we are close to the Black Sea and we are close to the places where the allied territory is threatened,” Dan said.
The purpose of our meeting… is to agree on our visions about the future of the North Atlantic Alliance….A priority is strengthening the transatlantic relationship.”
He said NATO Allies needed to increase spending on defense and develop a strong transatlantic military industrial base together.
He said the summit, held once a year, is also an opportunity for Allies to reaffirm their support for Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova.
