President Iohannis attends B9 reunion, NATO summit

President Klaus Iohannis attends, on Friday, in a videoconferencing system, the extraordinary meeting of the Bucharest Format 9 (B9) and the extraordinary meeting of the heads of state and government of NATO states, according to the Presidential Administration.

President Klaus Iohannis announced on Tuesday that he had decided together with his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda, to organize an extraordinary summit of the B9 Format in Warsaw on Friday, in the context of the security situation in the region.

"I discussed today with the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, about the serious security situation in the Black Sea region, as a result of Russia's actions, which blatantly violate international law. Consequently, we decided to organize on Friday, February 25th, in Warsaw, an extraordinary summit of the Bucharest Format 9 (B9), in order to coordinate our response and to demonstrate our unity. We are joined by Ukraine!" the president wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Minister of National Defense, Vasile Dincu, co-chaired on Thursday, together with his Polish counterpart, Mariusz Blaszczak, and with the participation of the Secretary of Defense of the United States of America, Lloyd J. Austin III, the extraordinary meeting of the defence ministers in Bucharest Format 9 (B9), organized, by videoconference, in the context of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation over the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, informs a press release of the Ministry of National Defense (MApN).

"The meeting represented a good opportunity to coordinate official positions, ahead of the NATO Summit and the B9 Summit, planned to take place on Friday, February 25, at the level of the heads of state and government. In his speech, the Romanian Minister of Defense strongly condemned Russia's unfolding aggression against Ukraine, noting that Russia's attitude represents a flagrant and unacceptable violation of international law and of all commitments assumed by Moscow, including the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine in internationally recognised borders," reports the MApN release.

According to the source, the Romanian dignitary stressed the importance of unity and solidarity within the North Atlantic Alliance now more than ever and welcomed the recent measures adopted at the level of the Alliance in order to strengthen the position of deterrence and defense on the entire Eastern Flank of NATO.

The Romanian Minister of Defense also conveyed his full support for the implementation of the measures adopted by NATO and informed the B9 and US defense ministers about a series of measures adopted at national level, for the implementation of allied decisions on defense plans and contribution to the NATO Response Force.

At the same time, Minister Vasile Dincu said that Romania is ready for the management of the flow of refugees.