Trump may send Rubio to the "Bucharest Nine" summit in his place

U.S. President Donald Trump will not attend the “Bucharest Nine” (B9) summit in Romania in person due to his busy schedule. While expressing gratitude for the invitation, the U.S. delegation at the May 13 meeting in Bucharest will likely be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 

This was reported by Digi24.

Negotiations are currently underway between Washington and Bucharest regarding the final format of participation by senior U.S. officials.

The B9 format brings together nine countries on NATO’s eastern flank, including Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. The main topics of the upcoming summit will be strengthening regional security and continued support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. The initiative to create this alliance belongs to former Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and former Polish President Andrzej Duda, who founded it in 2015 in response to Moscow’s destabilizing actions in Europe. Marco Rubio’s participation is expected to confirm the U.S.’s strategic focus on the Alliance’s eastern borders.

As is known, the B9 format, or the “Bucharest Nine,” which was created at the initiative of the presidents of Romania and Poland in November 2015, encompasses the countries on NATO’s eastern flank. In addition to these two countries, the B9 includes Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.

Romanian President Nicușor Dan invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to participate in the Bucharest Nine meeting, which will take place in May in Bucharest. 

Poland and Romania are seeking to have the Scandinavian countries join their “Bucharest Nine” (B9) initiative.