Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

The Bucharest 9 will not have a common position on the war in Ukraine

Photo: BTA

Eight of the Bucharest 9 (B9) Heads of State from Central and Eastern Europe and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met in Riga to discuss eastern flank defence and the situation in Ukraine ahead of the NATO summit in Washington in July. The Hungarian president did not attend the meeting.

The Bucharest Nine is a group of central and eastern European NATO members, namely Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. It was established in 2015 in response to Russia's aggression against Ukraine in Crimea and Donbass.

Speaking ahead of the forum, President Rumen Radev stressed that Bulgaria was determined to develop its own defence capabilities and contribute to NATO's defence potential. However, he said that today's meeting would end without a joint statement due to a lack of consensus on the outcome of the war in Ukraine.

Photo: president.bg
According to the Bulgarian president, "everyone wants Ukraine to restore its territorial integrity and Russia to stop its aggression, but the reality is that Kiev has neither the financial nor the human resources to achieve these goals".



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

The sunny autumn weather continues across Bulgaria

On Friday, minimum temperatures will range from 2° to 7°C , reaching up to 10°C along the Black Sea coast. In the valleys, temperatures may drop below 0°C, while in Sofia it will be around 2°C. In the morning, fog or low cloud is possible in some lowland..

published on 10/30/25 7:05 PM

Bulgarian national hero Hristo Botev monument reopens in Izmail, Ukraine, amid air raid sirens

In the Ukrainian city of Izmail, the refurbished monument to revolutionary poet Hristo Botev was officially unveiled today , even as air raid sirens sounded across the city, BTA reported. The ceremony, which was held as part of the Day of the..

published on 10/30/25 4:49 PM
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadzhov

Sofia aims at full OECD membership, vice PM Karadzov says

The government's political goal is for Bulgaria to become a full member of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development by the end of 2026, Deputy Prime Minister Grozdan Karadzhov told representatives of British businesses in Bulgaria...

published on 10/30/25 4:37 PM