President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Vilnius on June 2 to participate in a summit of the Bucharest Nine (B9) and the Nordic countries, Zelensky's spokesperson Serhii Nykyforov confirmed for Ukrinform.
The summit is hosted by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and will also be attended by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who has already arrived, according to Reuters.
The summit is taking place the same day as the second round of Russian-Ukrainian peace talks in Istanbul.
The Vilnius gathering will include leaders from the Baltic countries, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania. The summit will focus on preparations for the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague later in June and on allied support for Ukraine.
The Hague meeting, which will take place on June 24 and 25, will be the first annual NATO summit since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
The alliance faces uncertainty about continued U.S. commitment to NATO as the new administration has signaled plans to reduce its military deployment in Europe.
Trump has also been reluctant to provide new defense aid for Ukraine as he seeks to broker a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow. Trump's views on Ukraine prompted speculations that Zelensky may not be invited to the summit, or that Ukraine's participation may be scaled down in some way.
Martin Fornusek
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