Photo: Tomáš Fongus
On Monday, 10 June, President of the Republic Petr Pavel travelled to Riga for a two-day working trip, where the next day he attended the Bucharest Nine (B9) Summit, an informal grouping of the nine countries that make up NATO's eastern wing. Discussions focused on the expected outcomes of the July NATO Summit in Washington. In addition to the B9 countries, the summit was attended by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the leaders of Finland and Sweden, new members of the North Atlantic Alliance.
The President also used his trip to Latvia to visit the military base in Adaži, where on Tuesday morning he met with Czech soldiers who have been stationed there since the beginning of this year to protect NATO's eastern border.
The B9 summit itself was an opportunity to discuss immediate or long-term support for Ukraine or the Alliance's approach to Russia. Deepening partnerships with like-minded Indo-Pacific states or the election of a new NATO Secretary General were also topics.
"On the issue of support to Ukraine, three main points were discussed, within the framework of the 3M package defined by the NATO Secretary General, i.e. Mission, Money and Membership. The first one does not mean a military mission, but rather coordinated aid and assistance from the Alliance to Ukraine. The latter refers to a long-term financial commitment to enable Ukraine to function as a state, but also to finance its defence effectively. And the third is an expression of the will to bring Ukraine into NATO," President Pavel said after the summit.
On the sidelines of the summit, the President met bilaterally with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, whom he congratulated on his re-election as head of state. They also discussed cooperation in the field of defence and mutual trade relations.
Statement by the President of the Republic at the press briefing at the summit here.
Communication Department of the CPR CR
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