B9 countries committed to further support of Ukraine

National security advisers of the Bucharest Nine gathered in Warsaw on Wednesday at the invitation of the head of the National Security Bureau, Jacek Siewiera.

They met to discuss the statement of NATO’s eastern flank ahead of the North Atlantic Alliance summit in Vilnius (11-12 june). The subject of the meeting was also the June summit of B9 presidents in Bratislava.

According to the statement of the National Security Office, the B9 countries assured their commitment to further support of Ukraine and stressed the importance of Ukraine’s victory for Europe’s security.

“The countries of the Bucharest Nine unanimously condemned Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, assured their readiness to continue supporting Ukraine and stressed the importance of its victory for the security of Europe,” the Bureau reported.

Państwa #BukaresztańskaDziewiątka zgodnie potępiły agresję Rosji na Ukrainę, zapewniły o gotowości do dalszego wsparcia Ukrainy i podkreśliły znaczenie jej zwycięstwa dla bezpieczeństwa Europy.

Spotkanie doradców. ds. bezpieczeństwa B9 w Warszawie na zaproszenie @JacekSiewiera pic.twitter.com/dnmUGJCnQH

— BBN (@BBN_PL) May 24, 2023

The presidential advisers agreed that the NATO summit in Vilnius “should significantly raise the dimension of NATO-Ukraine cooperation, making further real steps, on the path of Ukraine’s future membership.”

As was highlighted, the meeting was also a foundation for the Bucharest Nine summit at the level of heads of state with the attendance of President Andrzej Duda. The last two summits were held in Poland.

The next one is scheduled for 6 June in Bratislava. Past B9 meetings have included the presence of US President Joe Biden and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

National security advisors of the B9 countries, including the head of the National Security Office, Jacek Siewiera, also took part in a debate on the challenges for NATO’s eastern flank.

“We are now seeing more consolidation among the members of this format,” said General Ian Oprisor, security advisor to the Romanian President. He also confirmed that his country is increasing its financial commitment to the modernisation of the army. “Romania is raising its GDP allocated to military modernisation from 2 to 2.7 per cent”.

Rima Malakauskiene, security advisor to the President of Lithuania, claimed that the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius will be a moment that could make history.

The Bucharest Nine (B9) are NATO’s eastern flank countries: Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia. The aim of the B9 is to strengthen unity and cooperation by the North Atlantic Alliance’s eastern flank countries. The beginning of the Bucharest Nine is considered to be the meeting of the leaders of the nine countries in Warsaw that took place on 22 July 2014, convened to discuss, among other issues, the conflict in Ukraine and the occupation of Donbas and Crimea. The official inauguration of the group, however, did not take place until a year later, on 4 November 2015, during the NATO Eastern Flank Mini-Summit in Bucharest.