Official Minister of Defense Atanas Zapryanov will participate in the meeting of the ministers of defense of the countries of the format “Bucharest 9“ (B-9), which will take place today in Bucharest, Romania. This was announced by the press center of the Ministry of Defense (MoD), BTA reported.
B-9 is a multilateral format for consultation and dialogue on security issues involving 9 member countries from NATO's eastern flank – Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. The political dialogue format was established in Bucharest in November 2015 in response to security challenges in the region following Russia's annexation of Crimea. Nine NATO member countries from Central and Eastern Europe that were part of the former Soviet Union or the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact joined this format, created at the initiative of the presidents of Romania and Poland – Klaus Iohannis and Andrzej Duda.
The forum will provide an opportunity to discuss topical issues related to common security threats and strengthening the Alliance's collective defense and deterrence potential. Within the framework of the meeting, common positions on the subjects of the NATO agenda will be discussed and coordinated, on which decisions will be taken at the upcoming meeting of the defense ministers of the NATO member countries in October this year, adds the Ministry of Defense.