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DefMin Motoc attended ceremony opening works on Redzikowo antimissile facility in Poland
National Defence Minister Mihnea Motoc on Friday participated, at the invitation of his Polish counterpart Antoni Macierewicz, in the ceremony opening the works on the Redzikowo Aegis Ashore antimissile facility in Poland, informs a National Defence Ministry (MApN) release.
According to the release, the ceremony took place in the presence of Poland's President Andrzej Duda, US Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defence Investment Patrick Auroy, as well as of other US and Polish officials.
"The Redzikowo military base will be a part of the US antimissile system developed in Europe and NATO's comprehensive antimissile architecture, going to represent the 3rd phase of the development of the European component of the US antimissile defence system (European Phased Adaptive Approach / EPAA), with a work completion deadline set for 2018. The presence of the Romanian Minister in this event is the expression of the allied solidarity and cohesion in the context in which on May 12 the antimissile system at Deveselu was made operational within a ceremony, highlighting the special strategic importance of this project for Romania and Poland, for the Alliance and for the Euro-Atlantic security, in general," MApN mentions.
Minister Mihnea Motoc then had a bilateral meeting with his Polish counterpart Antoni Macierewicz. On the discussion agenda there were the common priorities under the allied framework, aimed at preparing the agenda of the upcoming Summit of Warsaw, ensuring the optimal modalities of military strengthening of the security on the eastern flank, the release reads.
"The two ministers assessed the recent developments in the complex and unpredictable regional security context and pointed out the importance of an integrated approach of the entire eastern flank of the Alliance and a balance in securing the allied response to the threats coming both from the north and from the south of the same flank, underscoring the need to adapt the deterrence capability to their specific," the MApN release also mentions.
Minister Motoc evoked, on this occasion, the strategic importance of the Black Sea to the security of the entire Alliance and voiced the need for consolidating the allied presence in the region.
The Romanian official pointed out that Romania supports, within the North Atlantic Alliance, the initiatives devoted to the northern segment of the eastern flank. The Polish Defence Minister also voiced his support for Romania's proposals concerning the southern dimension of the same flank.
Minister Motoc and his counterpart agreed on coordinating the stands of the two states in the Alliance, in order to identify some new practical modalities of cooperation and mutual support for consolidating the allied advanced presence on the entire eastern flank of NATO, the MApN also shows.