NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg attended the Bucharest Nine (B9) Defence Ministers’ meeting at NATO Headquarters on Friday (14 October 2022).
Gathering in the immediate aftermath of the NATO Defence Ministers’ meeting (12-13 October 2022), the B9 event, co-chaired by Minister Vasile Dîncu of Romania and Minister Mariusz Blaszczak of Poland, was an opportunity to discuss the situation in Ukraine, take stock of the implementation of the Madrid Summit decisions, and reiterate the importance of investing more in shared defence. Attendees included the defence ministers and senior officials from NATO Allies Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The U.S. Secretary of Defence, Lloyd Austin, also took part in the meeting.
The Secretary General thanked the B9 countries and the United States for their valuable contributions in support for Ukraine and in defence of all Allied citizens, and for their continued – and increasing – investments in defence. Faced with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and dangerous rhetoric, the continued strength and unity of B9 nations and all Allied countries is indispensable.
The B9 format was established at the initiative of Polish President Andrzej Duda and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in the aftermath of Russia’s first invasion of Ukraine in 2014.