Prime Minister Petteri Orpo will attend the joint summit of the Bucharest Nine and the Nordic countries in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Monday, said a government press release.
Discussions at the Vilnius Summit will focus on preparations for the NATO Summit to be held in The Hague on 24–25 June.
Items on the agenda will include increasing NATO members’ defence spending, supporting Ukraine on its path towards a just and lasting peace and deepening Euro-Atlantic security cooperation.
“Russia’s ongoing unlawful war of aggression in Ukraine is seriously weakening the security situation in Europe. Support for Ukraine also supports Euro-Atlantic security as a whole. At the same time, we have to understand that Russia will continue to be a major threat to Europe going forward,” said Orpo in the press release.
“The best way we can support Ukraine and European security is by making a strong commitment to raising the level of defence spending and increasing defence industry capacity at the upcoming NATO Summit in The Hague,” he added.
The Bucharest Nine consists of the eastern NATO member countries: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.
The group was founded at the initiative of the President of Romania, Klaus Johannis, and the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, in 2015.
In addition to the Bucharest Nine, the summit in Vilnius will be attended by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and all of the Nordic countries.
- PM
- Vilnius Summit
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
