NATO and Security at the Black Sea

To the Romanians living in the sparsely populated villages on the Danube, close to the border with Ukraine, the war in the neighboring country has gained an increased and unwanted concreteness after the recent Russian bombing of the Danube ports of Reni and Izmail.

The aforementioned ports have been targeted by Russia, after they became hubs in the transport of the Ukrainian grain towards Western Europe. If until recently the noise made by the explosions used to be the main source of discomfort for the locals, their concern reached new levels after debris from some Russian drones had been discovered nearby. The Ministry of Defence has stepped up its surveillance in the area, in accordance with the NATO plans for strengthening the eastern flank, while the alliance, through the voice of its Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has voiced its support for Romania. Just like Stoltenberg, NATO Deputy Secretary General, Mircea Geoană, said there were no indications regarding Russia’s intentions to strike a NATO member state.

However, the concern of the Romanian citizens living close to the Danube border with Ukraine is understandable, Geoana went on to say. „…When you hear the sound of war several hundreds of meters or kilometers away from you, it’s only natural to feel anxiety and anguish. I understand that, but there is no risk for Romania to be attracted into this conflict or for this conflict to be extended to the area” the NATO official says. „My message, as Romanian, is to try to have confidence in the fact that the North-Atlantic Alliance has taken all the measures needed now and in the future so that it may be able to defend the entire allied space, including Romania,’ Mircea Geoana explained. He hailed the US’ decision to beef up air policing in the Black Sea area. In Vilnius, he recalled, allied leaders endorsed a new generation of defence plans tailored for this type of incidents, accidents or more serious situations, even involving deliberate attacks. ‘These defence plans are complete, including among other things, air policing and integrated anti-missile systems. We are speaking about measures specific to the Black Sea, which is an important area for us and very complex’, the NATO official added.

In another development, a military drill is taking place in the Black Sea and the Danube Delta until Friday, which brings together troops from Romania, the USA and other allied countries as well as from Ukraine. The Sea Breeze multinational exercise, the United States has staged in Romania for the first time, contributes to increasing stability in the Black Sea region and ensuring the free navigation in the wake of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine. It is aimed at raising the training level of the servicemen from the participant countries in the anti-mine combat operations. The drill also comes after Russia’s withdrawal from the agreement on the transit of the Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.

(Ştefan Stoica, Radio Romania International))