Bucharest Nine Summit – 10 June 2022

At the invitation of the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis and the President of Poland Andrzej Duda, President Katalin Novák attended the B9, i.e. Bucharest Nine, Summit, at which the participating countries condemned the Russian aggression against Ukraine in a joint declaration. 

The consultations among the B9 – i.e. the four Visegrad countries, the three Baltic states and Romania and Bulgaria – were initiated by Poland and Romania in 2015 to give the NATO member states in the Central-European region an integrated representation in the Alliance.

The main topic of the Presidential Summit held on 10 June 2022 was the war. The Hungarian head of state said that for Hungary, security and peace come first! 

Katalin Novák highlighted: the declaration adopted by the Bucharest Nine clearly and unambiguously reflects the position she set out in ten points in her inaugural speech on 14 May. 
„We strongly condemn Russia's unjustified aggression against Ukraine, which has destroyed peace in Europe, causing immense human suffering and destruction. We mourn the tragic loss of human life. We reaffirmed our commitment to the sovereignty and democratic functioning of Ukraine. This also means that the Ukrainian state is obliged to fully guarantee the rights of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia at all times.

The President of the Republic emphasized that due to the war, the security of food supplies may be endangered in exactly the regions where living conditions have already been difficult, therefore migration is likely to increase. Katalin Novák added: The development of Hungary’s Defence Forces proceeds at high speed. “We are fulfilling our commitments and we do not intend to stop: the security of our country, our region and our allies is paramount".

Following the Bucharest Summit, Katalin Novák had a one-on-one consultation with the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis. Hungary’s President set it as a goal for Hungary to remain in a modern and pragmatic relationship with Romania, and for Transylvanian Hungarians to be able to live and prosper in their homeland.