The countries of NATO’s eastern flank met in Riga, Latvia. A meeting to discuss Russian hybrid threats and support for Ukraine.
Countries on NATO’s eastern flank, grouped as the Bucharest Nine (B9), have gathered in the Latvian capital of Riga ahead of July’s crucial NATO summit in Washington.
The Bucharest Nine (B9) event brings together officials and leaders from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, as well as newcomers within NATO, Sweden and Finland, and its Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg.
The head of the alliance will leave his post in October and has been increasing calls to support Ukraine in recent months. On Wednesday, he will travel to Hungary to meet Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has so far refused military assistance to Ukraine.
Countering Russia’s threats to NATO tops the B9 meeting’s agenda.
“The ongoing illegal war of aggression against Ukraine reminds us daily that Russia is ready to use all available forces and means, including military, to achieve its quasi-imperial goals. As we gather here in Riga, the Polish border with Belarus is once again witnessing a militarization of migration with the use of clandestine migratory pressure artificially introduced by the Kremlin as part of the hybrid operation currently taking place against other states. of our region” declared the Polish President at the start of the meeting.
Ukraine’s membership in NATO is another issue that could be discussed in Riga. However, Latvia, host of the B9, ruled out that this measure could be launched before the Alliance summit in Washington.
