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Addressing on Friday the plenary session of the Bucharest Nine (B9) Summit, President Klaus Iohannis said that in the context of the war in Ukraine this meeting is more relevant than ever and that the solidarity of dialogue and cooperation make the foundation of the common strength.
"The Bucharest 9 format provides a clear added-value in forging cohesive messages and ensuring coordinated approaches of the nine eastern flank allies, but also at transatlantic level, regarding the security of our Alliance as a whole. This meeting is more relevant than ever from at least two perspectives. First, the dramatic regional developments which claim our heightened attention and coordination. Solidarity, dialogue and cooperation are the fundamentals of our common strength. Today's agenda will, thus, address the current security developments in Ukraine and their impact on the larger neighbourhood, including other vulnerable partners, such as Georgia and the Republic of Moldova, but also on the allied security as a whole," the Romanian head of state said.
Iohannis also pointed out that Romania is the NATO member state with the longest border with Ukraine.
"Since February 24, we are facing a completely new security reality in the region. We are going through a crucial moment for the Euro-Atlantic region, and especially for us, the NATO countries on the eastern flank. Romania is the NATO ally sharing the longest border with Ukraine, but we all have an acute sense of the threats the Euro-Atlantic space is facing as a consequence of the illegal and immoral Russian war of aggression against Ukraine," said the Romanian President.
He went on to point out that at the NATO Summit in Madrid due at the end of the month, a new long-term vision will be adopted through the Alliance's new Strategic Concept.
"It is a momentous time as we chart the path for the Alliance at least for the next decade. At the end of this month, we will adopt, at the NATO Summit in Madrid, decisions of great impact for our present and future security. We will shape up a common long-term vision through the new Strategic Concept, putting collective defense and Article 5 at the core of our actions and implementing a significant transformation of our deterrence and defence posture, especially on the eastern flank, as we decided on March 24 in Brussels," the head of the state said.
According to the President, the reinforcement of NATO's posture along the entire eastern flank in a unified and balanced manner is becoming an urgent necessity.
"As the security risks for Romania and the Black Sea region are increasing, the consolidation of NATO's posture on the eastern flank in its entirety, in a unitary and balanced manner, especially in the southern part of the eastern flank, is even more urgent and crucial. I trust that the B9 unity and common approach will facilitate the ongoing allied negotiations, as well as the NATO decision-making process. It is for us to deliver the security to our citizens thus responding to the real threats generated by Russia," underscored Iohannis.
President of Romania Klaus Iohannis and his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda, the initiators of the Bucharest Nine (B9) format, welcomed on Friday at the Cotroceni Palace the participants in the B9 Summit. AGERPRES
