Leaders of 14 NATO allies meeting in Bucharest on Wednesday called for stronger air and missile defenses after repeated Russian airspace violations on the alliance’s eastern flank. They said the breaches showed an urgent need to improve protection against missiles, drones and other unmanned aerial vehicle threats. [1, 2, 3, 4]
The leaders issued a joint statement after the one-day meeting hosted by Romania’s President Nicusor Dan and Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki. The statement also called for deeper cooperation to expand defense industry capacity and scale up the transatlantic defense industrial base. [1, 2, 4]
The signatories included the B9 group of nine central and eastern European NATO members and the five Nordic NATO members. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and U.S. Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Thomas DiNanno also attended the meeting. [1, 2, 4]
The leaders condemned Russia’s “highly confrontational actions” against allies and partners, including sabotage, cyberattacks, hybrid attacks and destabilising activities. The statement said repeated airspace violations on the eastern flank showed the need to keep strengthening NATO air and missile defenses, including against unmanned aerial vehicle threats. [1]
Romania, Poland and Baltic states have repeatedly reported airspace breaches by Russian drones, while Russia has denied targeting NATO states. The Bucharest meeting came ahead of a NATO summit in Ankara in July and was aimed in part at bridging a transatlantic divide linked to the Iran crisis. [1, 4]
Zelenskiy said it was hard to predict the outcome of the Ankara summit, but it should send positive signals to the Euro-Atlantic community. He also said Europe should not be afraid to discuss more united and, in some areas, more self-reliant European military capabilities. [1, 4]
