After Moscow required the withdrawal of NATO troops from Romania and Bulgaria. The Romanian Foreign Affairs Ministry rejects as “inappropriate and baseless” the declarations of the Russian Foreign Ministry concerning the military presence of NATO on the eastern flank.
„MAE emphasizes that NATO’s presence in the allied states is the result of top-level decisions made by allied leaders and implemented by the allied political and military structures. It is a strictly defensive response to the progressively aggressive behavior of the Russian Federation in the Eastern Neighborhood, especially since 2014 with the illegally occupied Ukrainian territory of Crimea”, stated the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Despite NATO’s attempts to engage in constructive dialogue, the escalation of Russia’s behavior continues today. The requirement that the deployment of NATO forces in all Alliance states that joined after 1997, including troops to be reduced, according to Moscow's requirements is already mentioned in Russia’s proposals for the European security released in December 2021.
This request has already been unequivocally rejected as unacceptable by the North Atlantic Alliance, both publicly and as part of the NATO-Russia and US-Russia dialogue. The allies have firmly declared that they will further strengthen their security and the collective defense policy, including through the presence of allied troops on the territory of Eastern allies.
The Deputy Secretary General of NATO, Mircea Geoană, declared in an exclusive interview for Digi24, that „there is no option” for negotiations that will prevail the withdrawal of NATO troops form Romania and Bulgaria, as Moscow required.
„It is NATO’s duty where and in which configuration, according to security needs, the military presence is placed in NATO countries”, stated the NATO official.
Editor : Ștefania Vîlcu
