The NATO Lilliputians, the Bucharest Nine countries and their five Nordic counterparts gathered in Vilnius on Monday to plan a strategy for increasing their defense spending to meet the envisioned threat from the “Russian bear.” They were joined by NATO chief Mark Rutte, who was showing support for the initiative, and by the globe-trotting, now-lapsed, President of Ukraine, Volodomyr Zelensky. .
The group issued a joint statement that they would be committing 5% of their budget to defense spending. The statement said that “Russia remains the most significant, long-term, and direct threat to Euro-Atlantic security,” claiming in spite of the peace talks in Istanbul that Russia has “shown no genuine interest in peace.” They reiterated their support for continuing the war in Ukraine. “The security of Ukraine is an integral part of the security of the Euro-Atlantic region,” the statement said.
