Prime Minister Petteri Orpo on Monday said that Europe will shoulder its responsibility for strengthening defence and security.
The Premier make the remarks at the joint summit of the Bucharest Nine and the Nordic countries in Vilnius, Lithuania, said a government press release.
Discussions at the summit focused on preparing for the NATO Summit to be held in The Hague on 24–-25 June and on support for Ukraine.
“The NATO Summit in The Hague must send a strong signal that our support for Ukraine is unwavering. When a ceasefire is reached, and when peace is ultimately achieved in Ukraine, Ukraine will still need strong defence and deterrence against Russia. Ukraine’s allies must be committed to providing this long-term strategic support. At the same time, we have to ramp up our own defence and deterrence,” said Orpo.
In addition to the Bucharest Nine, the Vilnius Summit was attended by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and all of the Nordic countries.
“NATO is going back to its roots and we are heading in the right direction. There is still a lot of work to be done, however, and the time for that work is now. We spent today working together to ensure that the NATO Summit in The Hague will be as successful as possible,” said Orpo.
Items on the agenda included increasing NATO members’ defence spending and boosting their defence industries, supporting Ukraine on its path towards a just and lasting peace and deepening Euro-Atlantic security cooperation.
Discussions at the meeting focused strongly on the importance of the Allies’ long-term commitment to Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s unlawful war of aggression and the long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security as a whole.
While in Vilnius, Orpo also had bilateral meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Romanian President Nicușor Dan, who has just taken office.
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 Iohannis, and the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, in 2015.
- PM
- Vilnius Summit
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
