On 26 May 2024, in Brussels, Belgium, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Baiba Braže, will take part in the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the NATO eastern flank member states (B9). The Foreign Ministers will discuss the perspective of the B9 countries on preparations for NATO’s Washington summit scheduled for July, and on the action that needs to be taken to secure long-term support for Ukraine. The meeting is organised by the Foreign Ministers of Poland and Romania ahead of the B9 Summit in Riga on 11 June.
The B9 Summit in Riga will take place at the initiative of the President of Latvia. The NATO Secretary General and the newest NATO Allies – Finland and Sweden – have also been invited to the summit. An address by the Ukrainian President is planned in the video conference format.
The B9 countries first met in 2015 to coordinate their national positions on issues critical to the security and defence along NATO’s eastern fringe. The format comprises Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia.