The leaders of NATO's eastern flank will have a more coordinated approach to support for Ukraine after the Hungarian president stayed away from their meeting in Riga, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said, quoted by Reuters and News. bg
The split underscores the differing approaches to Russia and Ukraine among Central European countries, amid Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's continued close relationship with Russia and his refusal to provide arms to Ukraine.
Rinkevičs pointed out that Hungarian President Tamáš Suljók canceled his participation in the summit of the Bucharest Nine (B9) - a group of European countries on the eastern edge of NATO.
"The most important thing is that we have a more coordinated approach to the NATO summit in Washington, as far as support for Ukraine is concerned, when it comes to strengthening the capabilities of the Alliance," Rinkevichs noted before the meeting.< /p>
Slovak President Zuzana Čaputova canceled her trip to Riga "at the last minute", the office of the Latvian president announced.
Slovakia suspended state military aid to Ukraine after Prime Minister Robert Fico's government took power last year.
The Slovak Foreign Ministry said that Čaputova's term expires this week and Fico was unable to attend as he is recovering from the assassination attempt in May.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also attended the event, which is being held ahead of NATO leaders meeting in Washington in July.
"I am confident that the NATO allies will reach an agreement at the NATO summit,", Stoltenberg pointed out, without commenting on the absent countries.
Stoltenberg will visit Budapest tomorrow.
The Bucharest Nine includes Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia - former members of the Soviet Union and now part of NATO and the European Union.