The ‘Bucharest Nine’ group was created following Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The countries on the eastern flank of the I’LL TAKEalso known as the ‘Bucharest Nine‘ (B9),have met in Riga, capital of Latvia, ahead of the crucial Atlantic Alliance summit to be held in Washington in July.
Officials and leaders from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia participate in the B9, in addition to the newcomers to NATO, Sweden and Finlandas well as its general secretary, Jens Stoltenberg.
The head of the alliance, Stoltenberg, will leave his position in October and in recent months he has increased calls for support for Ukraine. On Wednesday he will be in Hungary to meet with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has so far denied any military aid to Ukraine.
Countering Russia’s threats to NATO was top of the agenda. In addition to military concerns, participants highlighted the dangers posed by hybrid war.
The president of Poland, Andrzej Duda, stated that “the Polish border with Belarus is witnessing once again the instrumentalization of migration” by the Kremlin for put pressure on Europe. “We are aware that the same tools are being used right now against other states in our region,” she added.
The final declaration of the act also expresses his Concern over growing ties between Russia and Chinawhich, according to the statement, “attempt to undermine the rules-based international order, contradicting our values and interests.”
“We make a appeal to all states for what defend the international orderincluding the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrityenshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, and refrain from supporting Russia’s war effort in any way, as well as from any action that helps Russia evade sanctions.”
