"More defense and deterrence force is needed on the Eastern Flank"

President Klaus Iohannis declared, on Monday, that there is a need for an increased number of allied soldiers and pre-positioned equipment on the Eastern Flank, showing that the decisions taken in this regard at the North Atlantic Alliance Summit in Madrid need to materialize.

"More defense and deterrence force is needed on the Eastern Flank. I said this a long time ago, from the beginning to be very specific, and even today I discussed all these issues with Mr. Secretary General. In my opinion, it is an increased number of allied troops that is needed, but that is not enough. In addition, to represent a solid deterrence and defense, equipment is needed, more specifically prepositioned equipment. We have also discussed increasing presence and prepositioning of equipment at the Madrid Summit, but there is a need to materialize these decisions. In Madrid the decision was rather generic, everyone agreed that this must be done, but now I want it to become true", said the head of state, at the Cotroceni Palace, after the meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Translated by: Radu Matei