Sullivan Briefs Bucharest Nine On Blinken's Upcoming Meeting With Lavrov - White House

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan briefed his Eastern European counterparts, members of the Bucharest Nine group, on the upcoming meeting of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Ukraine, the White House said on Thursday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th January, 2022) US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan briefed his Eastern European counterparts, members of the Bucharest Nine group, on the upcoming meeting of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Ukraine, the White House said on Thursday.

"National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke today with National Security Advisors, Foreign Ministers, and other officials from the Bucharest Nine (B9) group of our eastern flank NATO Allies. Mr. Sullivan briefed on US diplomatic efforts related to Russia's destabilizing military buildup along Ukraine's border, including Secretary Blinken's upcoming meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov," the White House said in a press release.

Sullivan also welcomed continued close coordination with the B9 countries on NATO deterrence and defense efforts while the participants underscored the importance of Transatlantic unity, calling it their greatest strength.

The Bucharest Nine members are Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.

Earlier in the day, Blinken said he does not expect to resolve the existing differences in positions on Ukraine's membership in NATO between Moscow and Washington at the meeting with Lavrov in Geneva on Friday.

On Wednesday, Blinken met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kiev. The sides discussed American and international security assistance to Kiev, with Blinken underscoring the US commitment to diplomacy, alongside readiness "to impose severe costs for further Russian aggression against Ukraine."

Russia has on many occasions dismissed the allegations that it was preparing to invade Ukraine, pointing to the insecurity created by NATO's military activity in the region. Moscow reiterates that it has no intention of attacking any country, viewing the accusations as a pretext for deploying more alliance's military equipment close to Russian borders.