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US says it is committed to strengthening Romania's resistance to effects of a Russian invasion of Ukraine
The United States is committed to making every effort to help strengthen Romania's resistance to the effects of a potential Russian military action in Ukraine and considers all scenarios, including a possible energy crisis and a possible crisis of Ukrainian refugees in Romania, Derek Chollet, political adviser within the US State Department, said on Wednesday in Bucharest, who at the same time said he was "impressed" with the level of preparations presented to him by the Romanian officials.
We have a number of concerns [about a potential escalation of the Ukrainian crisis], from the smallest to the largest. I am convinced that the Romanian Government understands the challenges. We, in the US, are doing it. And we are committed to working together on contingency plans and, if those happen, we should work together to address them, Chollet said at a meeting with a group of Romanian journalists during a visit to Bucharest as part of a tour in Europe.
I am very impressed with the level of training we have heard today from our colleagues in Bucharest. The Romanian Government is analyzing the various contingency plans for unforeseen situations. We are dealing with complicated challenges. We need to think together about the different directions in which the [Ukrainian] crisis may evolve, including to the worst case. We are talking about efforts to try to prevent the worst from happening, but it is clear that we need to be prepared, said the chief adviser to US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.
He specified that part of these efforts are also up to 1,000 additional American troops who will arrive in Romania in the coming days.
Chollet also said he had discussed with Romanian officials the risk of a refugee crisis as a result of a potential Russian military action in Ukraine, noting that the United States and its European allies were also considering the scenario of such a "large-scale" crisis.
I can't speculate on how this [preparing sanctions] will affect Putin's calculations (...) and how it will influence his behavior. But I have made it clear that these consequences will be coming quickly and will be felt by Russia and the Russian people. That's the best we can do, the US official underlined.
He said the Russian president's intentions are difficult to second-guess due to the current pressure on Ukraine and the West, but assured that "NATO's door will remain open".
No country should be able to control another country's choices about who they choose to ally with. These are fundamental principles. It is not just about Ukraine and Europe, it is about international law and order. It is more than just a territorial dispute in one part of the world, Chollet said.
He assured that the United States is not interested in reorganizing the security architecture in Europe.
That is very clear in the response that we, the United States collectively gave to Moscow ('s request) a few weeks ago as well as NATO's response. We have not yet received the full answer from Moscow. We are waiting to see it before deciding on the next steps from a diplomatic point of view, he explained.
Chollet declined to say whether the United States still considers a Russian invasion of Ukraine imminent.
We don't know when they will act. Our assessment is that Putin has not decided whether to act or not. But Russia has enough capabilities deployed [on the border with Ukraine - ed.n.] for a military action (...), if it chooses to do so, added the representative of the US diplomacy.
He also said that he had "good discussions" with the Minister of Energy, Virgil Popescu, about what could happen if an energy crisis arose in Romania and in Europe, and that the gas supply would be interrupted or cut off as a result of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
We have discussed what the world can do to help Romania make sure that it can overcome such challenges. We are all thinking about it, because high energy prices can affect us all, he added.
We are working intensely with colleagues from around the world who can help Romania and other states in the event of an energy crisis as a result of a Russian military action, Chollet added.