Consolidating NATO’s presence on the Eastern Flank was the main topic of Tuesday’s meeting between Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and the Belgian PM Alexander De Croo. Iohannis has said that a NATO battle group will be stationed in Romania after the negotiations among allies are completed. Klaus Iohannis: “The balanced long-term consolidation of NATO’s defense and deterrence posture on the entire Eastern Flank, in reaction to Russia’s aggression must be sped up. I pointed out that we need a new strategic concept of NATO, that should reconfirm collective defense as top priority of the Alliance and should explicitly mention the fact that Russia is the main threat to NATO security.”
In his turn, the Belgian PM said NATO is a strong alliance that Romania can count on. Alexander De Croo said that everything that we see today is proof of president Putin’s miscalculations as regards the Ukrainians’ determination to defend themselves and the West’s determination to make Russia pay the price of this war. “Your border is our border and we will defend it,” the Belgian official also said.
In turn, NATO Deputy Secretary General, the Romanian Mircea Geoana, has recently said on a TV station that four NATO battle groups will be dispatched on the Eastern Flank, of which one in Romania. Moreover, he has announced that NATO leaders will decide, at the Madrid Summit in June, on a more robust permanent presence of the Alliance. Geoana has explained this involves state of the art anti-missile defense systems, strong cyber defense and naval, land and air zone, because, according to Geoana, the Black Sea is a vital strategic point. “We are seriously considering strong permanent NATO presence, that should ensure our protection and also a free trade area, free navigation area, in a region that is vital for the strategic and economic interests of the Alliance, of Europe and Romania,“ Mircea Geoana said.
Proof of NATO’s commitment on the Eastern Flank is an announcement made by the Pentagon recently, regarding the dispatch in Slovakia of a Patriot anti-missile system and of 100 troops, which will bring to 12,000 the number of American military mobilized to support the Alliance in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to the US, this action is another example of NATO consolidation and is aimed at discouraging aggression and reassuring the allies.
Daniela Budu, Radio Romania International
