site.btaUPDATED President Radev: War in Ukraine Calls for Adequate Measures Guaranteeing Security in Eastern Europe

Russia's war against Ukraine calls for adequate measures for guaranteeing the security in Eastern Europe and tackling the secondary effects of the crisis. Guaranteeing the security and predictability in international relations is of key importance for the faster recovery and mitigation of the damages inflicted by the military actions, said President Rumen Radev in Bucharest on Friday during the B9 Summit, the President's Press Secretariat reported.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda are playing host to the event, Agerpres said.

Duda launched the B9 (Bucharest Nine) format in November 2015. The format includes NATO member countries on the eastern flank: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. At the summit, the nine countries are coordinating their positions on matters on NATO's agenda ahead of the NATO Summit in Madrid on June 28-30, which will focus on the implications of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the bloc's response.

Radev said during the forum that for years, NATO has focused on conducting peace keeping missions abroad. The deteriorated security environment in Europe, however, calls for timely solutions for modernizing and developing the member states' own defence potential. The Bulgarian head of State noted that the military actions in Ukraine will surely have an impact on the adoption of Alliance's new strategic concept during the NATO Summit in Madrid. The different countries, however, cannot be just consumers of security and should invest the necessary resources to improve the operational compatibility between its armed forces.

According to Radev, the operational compatibility between allies starts with the development and manufacturing of defence equipment. He once again called on NATO members to pool the efforts of their military science and industry into joint projects, which could overcome the division within NATO between countries that produce and those that purchase defence equipment.

In addition to the allied support for reinforcing the Alliance's Eastern flank, Rumen Radev stressed the need for solutions in support of Southeast Europe's energy diversification, including for expanding the regional gas transmission infrastructure with NATO's financial assistance. According to the Bulgarian President, the secondary effects of the war in Ukraine have a strong impact not only on the growing price of energy resources and inflation, but also pose a threat to the food security in neighbouring regions. That is why Radev called for prompt action in support of the export of grain from Ukraine and preventing new migration waves towards Europe.

Radev had a meeting with his Estonian counterpart Alar Karis as part of the forum. The participants in the forum adopted a declaration as well.  

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is taking part in the B9 Summit by videoconference.