Eastern Europe tells Biden more NATO Forces are needed

During the Bucharest B9 Summits (10 May) held this year online and hosted by Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, leaders from across the region issued a common statement condemning Russia’s acts of sabotage on NATO territory, writes Cristian Gherasim, Bucharest correspondent.

Given COVID19 restrictions, the summit took place online and was also joined by US president Joe Biden.

“We condemn Russia’s acts of sabotage on Alliance territory as evidenced in the explosions of the ammunition depot in 2014 in Vrbětice, in the Czech Republic, that constitute a grave violation of international law. In addition, we express concern over reports of a similar pattern of behaviour on the territory of Bulgaria, as evidenced by the announcement on the ongoing investigation in Sofia,” the joint declaration reads.

The B9 group is an organization founded on 4 November 2015 in Bucharest, Romania, at the initiative of the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis and the President of Poland Andrzej Duda following a bilateral meeting. Alongside Poland and Romania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia are also members of the group. The group resulted from a perceived aggressive attitude from Russia following the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and its following intervention in eastern Ukraine both taking place in 2014. All members of the B9 were either part of the former Soviet Union (USSR) or its sphere of influence.

The summit couldn’t have come at a more difficult time for the region’s security. Last month Russia amassed tens of thousands of troops on Ukraine's borders as well as in Crimea, the biggest mobilization since Moscow seized the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula in 2014.

President Iohannis said during the summit that NATO needs to remain a force for projecting strength and deterrence throughout the region. Iohannis pointed out that there is a growing need for more NATO forces along the Eastern border especially along the Baltic line to the Black Sea.

“That's why, including during our discussion with President Biden, I advocated a bigger presence of the alliance and the United States in Romania and in the south of the eastern flank. The talks were very substantive, a fact reflected in the Joint Statement adopted at the end of this meeting," Iohannis said.

The joint statement signed by all those in attendance showed that something needs to be done to counter Russia's destabilizing actions in the region.

Ahead of the summit, the White House expressed its desire for stronger cooperation with Central, Eastern European allies, the Baltic and Black Sea regions.

Last month, the United States also pledged support for Ukraine in light of Russia’s destabilizing efforts during a phone call between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

NATO’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg also attended the virtual summit and told the audience that Joe Biden’s attendance proved Washington's determination to rebuild and strengthen NATO.

US’s perceived stronger involvement in the region comes after years of Trump’s ambiguous policy towards Easter Europe and Russia’s continuous push to destabilize the region.

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