The Minister of Defense announced a series of very important, last-minute requests from the USA, regarding the Romanian Army, NATO, but also the war in Ukraine, and this is because Angel Tilvar is talking about a necessary strategy for the Black Sea, in the new global context generated by Russia through the attacks launched against Ukraine.
The Minister of Defense explains below why there is a need for an even greater involvement of the US in this region, and this is because the Americans can help us to a very large extent to ensure our security at a time when the war in Ukraine is not going well precisely in a too good direction, and we don't know how long it will last.
"I had an excellent meeting with the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, at the Pentagon. I thanked my counterpart for the constant contribution of the United States of America to strengthening the security and deterrence and defense posture for NATO's eastern flank, especially in the Black Sea region. The visit to the USA represents a reconfirmation of the excellent relations on the defense dimension within the Romanian-American Strategic Partnership and, at the same time, a new opportunity to discuss the main topics of common interest.
In this sense, the discussion agenda of the two officials focused on topics related to the evolution of the regional security situation in the context of the Russian Federation's war of aggression in Ukraine, with an emphasis on concrete ways to strengthen bilateral military cooperation, the deepening of cooperation in the Black Sea , the continuation of the presence of the US armed forces in Romania and the Black Sea region, respectively the contribution to the allied deterrence and defense posture on the eastern flank.
My visit to the United States comes at a symbolic time as we celebrate 30 years of Partnership with the State of Alabama, an important milestone in the development of an excellent Strategic Partnership relationship. Along with strengthening Romania's profile within the North Atlantic Alliance and the European Union, the deepening and expansion of the Strategic Partnership with the USA represents an important component of our country's foreign and security policy.
I welcome the outstanding results achieved on the level of support for Ukraine under the leadership of US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in the Defense Contact Group. Romania, in its capacity as an EU and NATO member state, has provided multidimensional support to Ukraine and will continue to do so as long as it is needed.
We believe there is an urgent need for a comprehensive, multi-domain strategy for the Black Sea, led by the US, involving key actors in the region. This will create a more robust policy built around consistent and persistent US and NATO presence and active US leadership in the region.”
