Bulgaria represented at B9 summit by its NATO ambassador

Bulgaria is being represented by its NATO ambassador at the Bucharest Nine (B9) summit in the Romanian capital on Wednesday, making it, alongside Hungary, the only member of the format not attending at presidential, prime ministerial or ministerial level.

Bulgaria is represented by its permanent representative to NATO, Nikolay Milkov, while Hungary sent its ambassador to Romania, Katalin Kisne.

The summit has brought together 15 heads of state and senior officials, including NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, according to BTA. The United States is represented by Thomas DiNanno, deputy assistant secretary for arms control, deterrence and stability.

This year's meeting is seen as a key moment for shaping a common position on air defence and military mobility in the region ahead of NATO's July summit. The agenda includes higher defence spending, strengthening the transatlantic industrial base, strategic coordination on NATO's eastern flank and support for Ukraine.

In a statement, the opposition coalition Democratic Bulgaria criticised Bulgaria's level of representation, saying the decision not to participate at a higher political level was "not a protocol issue, but a political one".  "The only beneficiary is Putin's regime in Moscow," the coalition said.

The B9 format groups nine NATO member states on the alliance's eastern flank - Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. It was launched in 2015 by Romania and Poland after Russia's annexation of Crimea to strengthen regional security cooperation and coordinate positions within NATO.

Editing by Miglena Ivanova

Edited and posted in English by E. Radkova