Romania and NATO

In the wider context of NATO's reconsidering its priorities on the eastern flank, a series of analyses show the Romanian Army needs modern equipment, particularly in the field of air space defence. The issue might also be included on the agenda of the NATO summit due in Warsaw, in summer.

In an interview on Radio Romania, the Romanian Defence Minister Mihnea Motoc underlined Bucharest's expectations from this historic meeting:

"The stake of this year's NATO summit is to move to a next stage from the allied reassuring and adjustment measures for the countries on the eastern flank, which were drafted at the 2014 Summit in Wales, against the backdrop of the then developments in the east, in Ukraine. The next stage is that of crystallizing a long-term strategic adjustment of the alliance, along three major action lines: military, political and institutional. As far as we are concerned, we are active in negotiations and want to have a high profile in promoting our own security interests."

Until July, Romania will also take into consideration the NATO foreign ministers' long-term strategic options. Also in the run up to and in preparation for the Warsaw Summit, Romania will host in late April an important meeting of defence officials, meant to harmonize and crystallize standpoints; the meeting will be a good opportunity for Bucharest to present and promote its security interests ahead of the NATO summit in Warsaw. According to the Romanian defence minister, Romania is interested in further strengthening security on the eastern flank, laying special emphasis on the developing security issues in the Black Sea area.

In this context, Romania will support the idea of setting up a permanent NATO base in eastern Europe, in correlation with the possibility of receiving credible and robust back up, in due time. In the interview on Radio Romania, minister Mihnea Motoc has also approached the political crisis in the Republic of Moldova (a former Soviet country with a predominantly Romanian speaking population). He hailed the recent swearing in of a new Democratic government in Chisinau and underlined that the visit paid to Bucharest by the Moldovan Prime Minister Pavel Filip has given a clear signal that Moldova, the country situated on NATO's eastern border, is returning to stability and keeps walking the European path it has embarked on.

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