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B9 FMs to meet in Poland for talks on Ukraine, regional security

30.03.2023 08:00
Top diplomats from nine countries on the eastern edge of NATO will meet in Poland on Thursday and Friday to discuss regional security and Russia's war against Ukraine, officials have confirmed.
Polands Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau.
Poland's Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau.Photo: PAP/Roman Zawistowski

The meeting of the Bucharest Nine (B9) group of eastern-flank NATO allies will take place in the central Polish city of Łódź, Polish foreign ministry spokesman Łukasz Jasina has told reporters.

He said the talks, chaired by Poland's Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, would be part of the group's preparations for a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July.

NATO officials and representatives from Sweden, Finland and Spain are also expected to attend the gathering, according to Jasina.

On February 22, US President Joe Biden told a summit of B9 leaders in Warsaw that Article 5 of the alliance's collective defence treaty "is a sacred commitment” and that America "will defend literally every inch of NATO."

Biden was speaking in the Polish capital ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.

The Bucharest Nine is a Polish-Romanian initiative launched in 2015 that aims to help exchange views and coordinate positions on the security of NATO’s eastern-flank countries, according to officials.

The B9 group is made up of Poland, Romania, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, and Slovakia.

Thursday is day 400 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

(gs)

Source: IAR, PAP