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NATO2022Bucharest/Iohannis: Increased number of allied soldiers and prepositioned equipment needed on Eastern Flank
President Klaus Iohannis stated on Monday that there is a need for an increased number of allied soldiers and prepositioned equipment on the Eastern Flank, showing that it is necessary that the decisions taken in this regard at the North Atlantic Alliance Summit in Madrid materialize.
"More defence and deterrence force is needed on the Eastern Flank. I said this thing a long time ago, from the beginning to be very specific, and, even today, I discussed all these matters with Mr. Secretary General. In my opinion, an increased number of allied military is needed, but that is not enough. In addition, to represent a solid deterrence and defence, equipment is needed, more exactly prepositioned equipment. We discussed these things and also about increasing the presence and prepositioning of equipment at the Summit in Madrid, but these decisions need to materialize. In Madrid, the decision was rather generic, everyone agreed that this must be done, but now I want us, at least that was my stance, to take action," the head of state said at the Cotroceni Palace, after the meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
He underscored that there is a need for concrete plans and the development of logistic structures and that it is expected for braver and much more concrete decisions to be made in these areas at next year's NATO Summit in Vilnius.
"In addition, very specific plans are needed in order to know exactly, in the event of an attack, who, what troops and where they are to be sent. We cannot leave such decisions for the last moment and then be caught by surprise. It is necessary, apart from these plans, to develop some logistic structures, for example for fuels, etc. All these, in my opinion, in our opinion, are necessary and I think that at the Summit in Vilnius next year, at least that's what we have discussed today, it's possible to have more courageous and much more concrete decisions in these areas," the head of state said.