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Iohannis: Current security developments in our vicinity prove measures taken by NATO necessary
President Klaus Iohannis stated, on Thursday, after visiting the headquarters of the Multinational Brigade South-East, that the current security developments in the direct vicinity prove that the measures taken by the North Atlantic Alliance are necessary.
"The current security developments in our direct vicinity prove, once more, that the measures taken by NATO are necessary, and Romania, in turn, is determined to fulfill its assumed commitments, in conformity with the decisions taken within the Alliance. From this perspective, the role of the Multinational Brigade South-East is all the more important in ensuring the security of the Black Sea region," said the head of state.
President Iohannis emphasized that the North Atlantic Alliance promotes and ensures the collective defence of the member-states and their citizens, defends democratic values, facilitates cooperation and consultation between allies on different matters of defence and security and prevents conflicts, and the Multinational Brigade South-East is part of these demarches.
"This is why NATO represents, without a doubt, the most solid security guarantee for Romania, a particularly important aspect, especially given the flare-up of risks, threats and challenges towards European security. In what regards us, Romania will fulfill all its assumed commitments, thus contributing to NATO's status as the most powerful and efficient collective defence alliance in history," he stated.
The head of state added that, since the beginning of his first mandate, he was "directly involved" in the national effort to consolidate the Allied presence in Romania and the Black Sea region, "remarkable results" being recorded from a diplomatic and military point of view.
He mentioned that, in 2015, in Bucharest, the NATO Unit for Force Integration and the Headquarters of the Multinational Division South-East, "structures that constitute an important part of the reassurance measures, and later the deterrence and defence [measures] on the Eastern Flank."
"After the illegal annexation by Russia of the Crimean Peninsula, we started an ample and complex process for political and military adaptation of NATO to a security environment marked by new challenges and the increasingly aggressive behavious of Russia in the region. Romania was profoundly committed to these demarches. We have continued through the establishment here, in Craiova, of the Multinational Brigade South-East headquarters, as a result of our joint firm decision as allies to consolidate defence on the Eastern Flank of NATO through the establishment of an advanced adapted Allied presence. This structure, as those mentioned previously, and the Multinational Corps Headquarters, recently established in Sibiu, reflect the determination of Romania, of the Allies and of NATO, as a whole, to working together, in solidarity and complete unity, in order to strengthen the deterrence and defence posture of NATO on the Eastern Flank, in the Black Sea region and in the Euro-Atlantic space overall," explained Klaus Iohannis.
According to him, following the establishment of these NATO structures in Romania, "significant" progress was recorded in what regards increasing the operational capacity of Romania's forces and the interoperability of those forces with Allied forces.
The Minister of National Defence, Vasile Dincu, also attended the visit to the headquarters of the Neagoe Basarab 26th Infantry Battalion in Craiova.
Last week, President Iohannis visited the General Emanoil Ionescu 71st Air Base in Campia Turzii.