"Bucharest 9 Initiative" 13-14 March, Parliament Palace

Defense Ministers from the Member States of the "Bucharest 9 Initiative" will meet on 13-14 March at the Parliament Palace in Bucharest.

Meeting will be attended by Defense Ministers from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, as well as by NATO officials and representatives of the US Department of Defense.

RRA Reporter, Radu Dobriţoiu: "Based on their experience and expertise and on the common security interests, the Defense Ministers of "the B 9 Initiative" will gather in Bucharest after two meetings at the level of Heads of State and Government and after two other Ministerial Meetings.

Poland and Romania are the engine of this initiative that also includes Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Hungary.

Last year, Romanian Defense Minister Mihai Fifor launched the invitation of his Polish counterpart, Antoni Macierewicz, to organize a B-9 meeting in Bucharest in the format of Defense Ministers in order to co-ordinate the issues common to the states on the allied Eastern Flank.

Debates are an opportunity to harmonize the national positions of the B 9 Member States on the topics that will be on the NATO summit agenda in July 2018.

Topics will aim to strengthen NATO's deterrence and defense posture on the eastern flank, with a view to reaching a political decision on this issue at this year's summit of the Alliance.

According to statements during the latest meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Minister Mihai Fifor will emphasize the importance that the recent evolutions in the Black Sea have for the security of the Alliance, Black Sea being a region where Russia's military actions have intensified.

In an interview with Radio România Actualităţi (Radio Romania News, RRA), Defense Minister Mihai Fifor highlighted Romania's desire so that the recent evolutions in the Black Sea region to be a distinct theme at this year's NATO summit in Brussels.

Topics related to the process of adapting NATO's command structure will be also approached in Bucharest, as well as the risks and the threats from the Alliance's Eastern Neighborhood, and the ways to strengthen the resilience on the Baltic Sea - Black Sea - Adriatic Sea axis, including by the ensuring of the complementation with the other regional formats (European Defense Initiative / EDI Initiative, or the Three Seas Initiative).

Aspects on strengthening the interoperability of the Allied forces in the B9 format of cooperation with the USA`s will be debated too, also increasing the mobility of troops on the eastern flank, and a common approach to strengthening the NATO-EU cooperation.

Like Minister Fifor said, Romania has offered to host another NATO Command, alongside the two existing Multinational Division Southeast headquarters in Bucharest (HQ MND-SE) and Multi-national Brigade in Craiova.

Decision will be taken by the allies at the July summit in Brussels".

Source:RRA,MApN.Translated by Miruna Matei