Leaders of NATO’s eastern flank countries to meet in Romania, Czechia represented by Pavel

Leaders of NATO’s eastern flank countries will meet today in Romania for joint talks. The aim of the summit of the so-called Bucharest Nine (B9) is primarily to coordinate positions and interests ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara. The Czech Republic will be represented by President Petr Pavel, who traveled to Bucharest together with his Slovak counterpart Peter Pellegrini on Tuesday evening from Bratislava.

The B9 format was initiated by Romania and Poland in response to the deteriorating security situation in Ukraine after 2014. In addition to B9 members, representatives of the Nordic countries will also attend today’s summit in Bucharest. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are also expected to participate.

At today’s summit, leaders will discuss not only the security of NATO’s eastern flank, but also Europe’s growing role in ensuring security on the continent, Pavel told Czech journalists on Tuesday morning before departing from Prague.