President Klaus Iohannis stated on Monday that, in the context of the war in Ukraine, we need, more than ever, the North Atlantic Alliance to be strong and solidary, adding that he expects the NATO Foreign Affairs Ministers’ meeting, which is taking place in Bucharest, to reconfirm this objective, according to Agerpres.

„The implementation of the Strategic Concept will lead to an increased role for our Alliance, on which depends not only the security of the Euro-Atlantic space, but also the stability of the international order based on rules and principles. Russia’s actions represent a deliberate attempt to undermine and destroy this order. How we choose to respond to this challenge will largely depend on what the future of our world looks like. We need, more than ever, a strong and solidary NATO and I expect the ministers’ meeting which starts tomorrow to reconfirm this objective,” the head of state told a news conference at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace, after the meeting he had with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

The head of state showed that, in the discussions with the NATO Secretary General, he underscored the need to implement, as quickly as possible, the decisions adopted at this year’s Summit in Madrid.

„The foreign affairs ministers’ meeting is an important benchmark in this process and in preparing the 2023 Summit, which will take place in Lithuania, in Vilnius,” Iohannis added.

The head of state brought to mind that the strategic importance of the Black Sea was included, at Romania’s initiative, for the first time, in the New Strategic Concept, adopted at the NATO Summit in Madrid.

„In this context, I reiterated the relevance of making operational, as soon as possible, the decisions in Madrid regarding the consolidation of the forward defence posture on the Eastern Flank of the Alliance. Romania, for its part, will continue to make a substantial contribution to NATO’s collective defence and to the strengthening of the Alliance’s capabilities, further acting, as a provider of security and stability in the region. This commitment is based on concrete measures, firstly, on the decision to increase the national Defence expenditures from the current 2pct of the GDP to 2.5pct of the GDP, starting from 2023,” President Iohannis stated.

The two officials discussed about the progresses achieved at allied level during the almost 10 months since the last visit of the NATO Secretary General to Romania, mentioning that these are reflected in a significantly strengthened NATO posture on the Eastern Flank, including in Romania and in the Black Sea region.

„From February until now, NATO and our allies have deployed significant forces in Romania, with a deterrence, reassurance and defence role, so that, we are currently hosting approximately 5,000 allied soldiers. The NATO battle group in Romania undergoes a full development process, including in respect to the elements allowing it to increase at a brigade level. We will continue to closely coordinate with France, which is the framework nation, along with the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, in order to achieve the full operation capacity of this structure as soon as possible. In this context, I have shown that Romania is acting to fulfill its own obligations as a host nation,” President Iohannis said.

He thanked all the allies for the solidarity shown throughout this period, including the United States of America – for the important contribution to the security of Romania and our region.

The head of state highlighted Romania’s firm and concrete support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.

„I underscored the importance of increased support of the Alliance both for Ukraine and for the most vulnerable NATO partners in the region – the Republic of Moldova, Georgia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Romania will continue to provide multidimensional assistance to Kyiv at all levels. At the same time (…) we are making sustained efforts to support the Republic of Moldova in order to overcome the social, economic and energy difficulties generated by the war in Ukraine,” President Klaus Iohannis stated.

Agerpres