Summit B9. Joe Biden: &quot;US is committed to defending NATO&#039;s eastern flank.&quot; Iohannis: &quot;Security risks are growing&quot;

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Posted by: Cornelia Stefoglu

News / Moldova 1 Promo

10 June 2022 / 16:27

Summit B9. Joe Biden: "US is committed to defending NATO's eastern flank." Iohannis: "Security risks are growing"

The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, and the president Summit B9. Joe Biden: "US is committed to defending NATO's eastern flank." Iohannis: "Security risks are growing"of Poland, Andrzej Duda, initiators of the Bucharest 9 Format, received, on Friday, at the Cotroceni Palace, the participants in the B9 Summit. The presidents of Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia and Bulgaria are present in Bucharest. "Security risks to Romania and the Black Sea region are on the rise," Klaus Iohannis said at the start of the summit. US President Joe Biden also sent a message to the participants.

According to digi24.ro, the United States "is committed to defending NATO's eastern flank, strengthening the region's energy security and working together to support Ukraine," the US president said. Joe Biden also told B9 Summit participants that he "looks forward to seeing them again at the NATO Summit in Madrid."

President Klaus Iohannis said the summit was taking place at a crucial time for NATO and especially for the states on the eastern flank.

"It is a great pleasure for me to host this meeting. I would like to thank you for accepting the invitation to attend the sixth Bucharest 9th Summit. I would like to take this opportunity to warmly welcome NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who joins today's debate in online. As of February 24, we have to deal with a completely new security situation in the region. We are going through a crucial moment for the Euro-Atlantic region and, especially for us, the NATO member states on the Eastern Flank. Romania is NATO's longest-running ally with Ukraine, but we all share the assessment of the seriousness of the threats to the security of the Euro-Atlantic area, as a consequence of Russia's illegal and immoral war of aggression against Ukraine. The Bucharest 9 format offers a clear added value in coagulating the cohesion of messages and in ensuring the coordinated approaches of all nine allies on the East Flank, but also at the transatlantic level, regarding the security of the Alliance as a whole ", said the President of Romania.

He told the participants that "security risks to Romania and the Black Sea region are increasing."

"This meeting is more relevant than ever, from at least two perspectives. First of all, the dramatic developments in the region require increased attention and enhanced coordination. Solidarity, dialogue and cooperation are at the heart of our common strength. Today's agenda will therefore address current security developments in Ukraine and their impact on the extended neighborhood, including other vulnerable partners, such as the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, but also on the security of the entire Alliance. Secondly, we are in an exceptional moment in which we will trace the trajectory of the Alliance for at least the next decade. At the end of this month, at the NATO Summit in Madrid, we will take decisions with a major impact on our current and future security. We will establish a long-term vision through the New Strategic Concept, putting collective defense and Article 5 at the heart of our actions and implementing a significant transformation of the deterrent and defense position, especially on the Eastern Flank, as we decided on March 24, 2022, in Brussels. As the security risks to Romania and the Black Sea region increase, the consolidation of NATO's position on the entire Eastern Flank, in a unified and balanced manner, especially in the southern part of the Eastern Flank, becomes all the more urgent and crucial. I am confident that unity and a common approach at B9 level will facilitate the ongoing negotiations at the Allied level, as well as NATO's decision-making process. We have a responsibility to ensure the security of our citizens by responding to the real threats posed by Russia, "said President Klaus Iohannis.

The Presidents of the Czech Republic and Slovakia also participate in the B9 Summit by videoconference. Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance Jens Stoltenberg will also attend the summit online.

According to the Presidential Administration, the summit meeting of the Bucharest 9 states is of particular importance, especially in the current security context generated by Russia's illegal, unjustified and unprovoked aggression against Ukraine and the common and multidimensional challenges facing the states. Eastern flank, as well as the entire Euro-Atlantic region.

The agenda of the meeting is to prepare for the most important decisions of the NATO Summit, to be held in Madrid on June 28-30, and will address as a matter of priority the consequences of Russia's illegal military aggression against Ukraine and the Alliance's response to them.

President Klaus Iohannis will emphasize, in this context, the need to strengthen the position of deterrence and defense on the Eastern Flank, in a balanced and unified manner, from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, says the Presidential Administration.

The Bucharest 9 format is an initiative launched by President Klaus Iohannis and the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, with the participation of NATO member states on the Eastern Side of the Alliance: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary. B9 is a particularly useful platform for the effective coordination and consultation of allies on the Eastern Flank, as well as on the transatlantic level.

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