NATO member country leaders will take a coordinated approach to supporting Ukraine after the President of Hungary declined to attend a meeting in Riga, citing Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs.
Rinkēvičs reminded that Hungarian leader Tamás Sulyok refused to travel to the summit of the Bucharest Nine, which includes:
- Bulgaria
- Czechia
- Estonia
- Hungary
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Poland
- Romania
- Slovakia
Slovakia also did not participate. President Zuzana Čaputová canceled her visit to Riga last minute. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Čaputová’s term as the country’s leader ends this week, and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is currently recovering from an assassination attempt.
"The most important thing is that we have a more coordinated approach to the (NATO) Washington summit, when it comes to support for Ukraine, when it comes to strengthening the alliance’s capabilities," Rinkēvičs said before the start of the meeting.
NATO summit
The summit is scheduled for July 9-11 in Washington. According to the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, during the sessions, Alliance leaders will address three key issues regarding Ukraine:
- The mission to bring Ukraine closer to its NATO membership;
- Funding military aid to Ukraine to ensure reliable support;
- Establishing a joint analytical and training center in Poland.
