President: Romania encourages an increased presence of US troops in the country

Romania encourages the activities undertaken by US military on the country’s territory, in an allied or bilateral framework, and the increase of the US military presence and equipment in the country, President Klaus Iohannis said at a seminar held in Bucharest.

Earlier this year, defense minister Mihai Fifor asked for a permanent US military presence at the Mihai Kogalniceanu military base in eastern Romania.

The President said that an important threat to European security is “the hostile behavior coming from the East.” He explained that Romania’s main objective is to consolidate its security through national efforts and by making the best used of partnerships developed in time, especially the strategic partnership with the US and the role the country has in NATO and in the European Union.

Iohannis outlined three action lines that would need to be taken into account in the coming period. The first one refers to the “strengthening of solidarity inside NATO, including by consolidating the transatlantic relation,” the President said. In this context, the country is supporting the activity of US troops on its territory.

Secondly, Romania supports the development of the partnership between NATO and the European Union. “We support this partnership in areas of shared interest, such as forces mobility or cyber defense, based on the complementarity and synergy between the two organizations,” Iohannis explained.

The third line entails the “unity, coherence and consolidation of allied measures on the Eastern Flank,” he said.

The seminar, called Reshaping the Security Environment in Southeastern Europe – A view from Bucharest, was organized by the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) think tank.

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