Minister of National Defense Vasile Dincu participated on Wednesday in the extraordinary meeting of the NATO Defense Ministers chaired by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, expressing on this occasion Bucharest's full support for the adaptation and strengthening of the Alliance's deterrence and defense posture in view of the unprecedented challenges facing the European security architecture.
According to a statement from the Ministry of National Defense, the agenda of the meeting held amid the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine, focused on the developments of the armed conflict and its implications for the North Atlantic Alliance.
The allies discussed the continuation of the medium- and long-term adjustment of the deterrence and defense posture in response to the new realities of the European geostrategic environment, with a view to preparing a substantial decision-making package for the NATO summit due June 29-30 in Madrid.
The first working session, which was also attended (via videoconferece) by the Defense Ministers of Sweden, Finland, Georgia and Ukraine and EU representatives, tackled aspects related to the conflict in Ukraine and its impact on the security of the Alliance and its partners in the immediate neighborhood, as well as on the bilateral support offered by NATO states to Ukraine, the National Defense Ministry said.
This working session sent a "strong" signal of allied support for these important NATO partners, and especially for Ukraine, the release said.
DefMin Dincu presented Romania's concerns and preoccupations regarding the conflict unleashed by the Russian Federation in Ukraine, which has led to the destruction of the country and to countless loss of life, emphasizing the implications for regional security. He also referred to the actions taken by Romania in support of Ukraine, mentioning the establishment of a logistics hub in Suceava intended for humanitarian aid, and national efforts to handle the massive refugee inflow.
Debates in the second working session, in an exclusively allied format, focused on the process of NATO's medium- and long-term adaptation.
During this session, Minister Dincu expressed Bucharest's firm support for adapting and strengthening NATO's deterrence and defense posture in view of the unprecedented challenges facing the European security architecture.
He stressed the need for the immediate establishment of defensive allied operational structures in the Black Sea region, by the model of the already existing ones in Poland and the Baltic states, to ensure the joint effort needed to support the consolidation of the allied posture at regional level and reiterated Romania's willingness to host such a structure.
Also, the Romanian Defense Minister spoke in favor of the long-term adaptation of the Alliance, which is essential for the accomplishment of these ambitious goals, highlighting in this context Romania's recent decision to increase its defense expenditures from 2 to 2.5 percent of GDP, the release notes.