The meeting, which comes ahead of a NATO summit in Ankara in July, aims to find ways to mend a widening rift between US President Donald Trump and Europe over the Iran crisis.
“Further scaling up the transatlantic defence industrial base, including through increased production capacity, more resilient supply chains, effective multinational procurement … is essential to meeting today’s security challenges,” the joint statement said.
It was signed by the so-called “B9” grouping, comprising nine central and eastern European NATO allies, launched in Bucharest after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
They are Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
Wednesday’s statement was also signed by the five Nordic members of NATO – Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
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Zelenskyy told the gathering it was difficult to say what results the NATO summit in Ankara might bring but that it should send positive signals to the whole Euro-Atlantic community.
“At the same time, we should not be afraid to discuss more united and, in some areas, more self-reliant European military capabilities,” said Zelenskyy.
Ukraine is not a NATO member but it has received substantial military and financial support from the 32-nation alliance as it seeks to rebuff a full-scale Russian invasion that began in February 2022.
