Bucharest Nine

• Vaid's ICS, Lucknow
• 28, Mar 2022

Why in News?

The envoys to India of nine Eastern European countries called Bucharest Nine jointly wrote to acquaint the Indian public with the basic facts on the ground” about the “premeditated, unprovoked and unjustified Russian aggression in Ukraine”.

• The B9 countries have been critical of President Vladimir Putin’s aggression against Ukraine since 2014, when the war in the Donbas started and Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula.

What is Bucharest Nine?

The “Bucharest Nine” is a group of nine NATO countries in Eastern Europe that became part of the US-led military alliance after the end of the Cold War.

• The B9 was founded on November 4, 2015, and takes its name from Bucharest, the capital of Romania.
• The group was created on the initiative of Klaus Iohannis, who has been President of Romania since 2014, and Andrzej Duda, who became President of Poland in August 2015.

Members:

Romania, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the three Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

• All members of the B9 are part of the European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
• All nine countries were once closely associated with the now dissolved Soviet Union, but later chose the path of democracy.

Functions of B9:

• The B9 offers a platform for deepening the dialogue and consultation among the participant allied states, in order to articulate their specific contribution to the ongoing processes across the North-Atlantic Alliance.
• It works in total compliance with the principles of solidarity and indivisibility of the security of the NATO Member States.

Facts for Prelims :

Stablecoin?

• A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency that is typically pegged to an existing government-backed currency.
• The majority of the dozens of stablecoins that currently exist use the dollar as their benchmark asset, but many are also pegged to other fiat currencies issued by governments like the euro and yen.
• As a result, the price of stablecoins fluctuates very little, unlike high-profile cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum that are prone to sudden ups and downs.
• Stablecoins are useful because they allow people to transact more seamlessly in cryptocurrencies that function as investments, such as Bitcoin.
• They form a bridge between old-world money and new-world crypto.
• The first stablecoin, created in 2014, was Tether, which many other stablecoins are modeled after.

Pensilungpa Glacier:

• The Pensilungpa Glacier is located in Zanskar, Ladakh.
• It is retreating due to an increase in the temperature and decrease in precipitation during winters.
• The Zanskar Range is a mountain range in the union territory of Ladakh that separates Zanskar from Ladakh.
• Geologically, the Zanskar Range is part of the Tethys Himalaya.
• Marbal Pass and many other passes which connect Ladakh with Kashmir are in this area.
• 13000 feet high Zojila Pass is in the extreme northwest of Zanskar range.