Calay News
Yesterday, during a mass for peace and the conversion of Russia, as well as the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit on global leaders, priest Wieslaw Dawidowski imposed ashes on Joe Biden. The ceremony took place in the suite of the Marriott where Biden was staying in Warsaw. Afterwards, the US president addressed the meeting with the leaders of the member states of the Bucharest Nine format, which include Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the three Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
Hungarian President Viktor Orbán did not attend, but President Katalin Novák attended in his place. Following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, the group was formed in Romania at the initiative of Poland. Maia Sandu, president of Moldova, was also invited to the NATO Eastern flank summit as a political signal. At the meeting, Biden emphasized strengthening NATO member states on the front line, stating that “Article 5 is sacred, literally for every inch of NATO territory.” He also criticized Russia’s decision to freeze its adherence to the New Start nuclear arms control treaty and reminded the leaders present that they are the first line of collective defense.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has also advocated for showing Putin his limits once and for all. Poland’s President Andrzej Duda wanted Biden to promise military protection and the permanent establishment of US troops on Polish territory, although there were no announcements to that effect at the time. Biden’s visit did result in the signing of a contract for the construction of Poland’s first nuclear power plant with Westinghouse and Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe.
The Bucharest 9 group committed itself to the defense and overwhelmingly supported Biden’s theses. Romanian President Klaus Johannis called on those present to fulfill their commitments to support Ukraine, while Slovak President Zuzana Caputova concluded that “this year has made us all stronger and more united.”
