Russia's war against Ukraine requires adequate measures to ensure security in Eastern Europe and address the side effects of the crisis. This was what Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said at the B9 summit in Bucharest, Romania. At the meeting, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland have been coordinating positions on NATO's agenda ahead of the Alliance's summit in Madrid in late June.

President Radev recalled that for years the Alliance has been focused on peacekeeping missions abroad. But Europe's deteriorating security environment requires the development of Member States' own defense potential. The President has called for uniting efforts in defense science and industry and overcoming the division of producer and buyer countries in NATO when it comes to defense equipment and machinery.