Cotroceni Palace

Cotroceni Palace is the official residence and working headquarters of the President of Romania, located in the Cotroceni district of western Bucharest. The complex combines a 17th-century monastery with a neo-Romanian palace built in the early 20th century; it was converted into a presidential seat following the fall of communism. As a national monument and working government building, it hosts state visits and major multilateral summits.

On 13 May 2026, Cotroceni Palace served as the venue for the Bucharest Nine (B9) summit, at which President Zelenskyy addressed the nine eastern-flank NATO members and Nordic allies. The summit took place as Russia was conducting its 800-drone barrage across Ukraine — making the timing of the gathering unusual: a head-of-state multilateral meeting held in the middle of a live mass-drone attack on a participant-adjacent nation. Zelenskyy proposed bilateral EU drone manufacturing deals at the event, framing them as independent of US arms export approval.

The palace is administered by the Romanian Presidency. Its choice as the B9 summit venue reflects Romania's hosting role as one of the founding members and a recurring convener of the format. Romania's geographic position — a NATO member bordering Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Serbia — makes Bucharest a natural hub for eastern-flank coordination.