At Munich Security Conference, President Iohannis calls for unitary approach to NATO's eastern flank

AGERPRES special correspondent Florentina Peia reports: President Klaus Iohannis said on Saturday that the situation in the Black Sea region is complicated, emphasizing in this context that NATO's eastern flank should be treated in a serious and unitary manner.

Dear friends, dear allies, let's take care of the eastern flank! This does not mean neglecting the southern flank or other regions where NATO must be present, but the eastern flank is a special situation and I think that if we want to do something in the right direction, we must be careful to handle the Eastern Flank in a serious and unitary manner, we shouldn't believe that dividing the flank into the northern and southern part brings us any benefit. There is just one eastern flank, that has its specific issues and Romania is located thereon, therefore we are interested in all the relevant projects and developments. If there is talk inside NATO about deterrence, this is something we obviously need on the eastern flank, the Romanian head of state said at the Q&A session at the Munich Security Conference.

He also made a presentation of the situation in the region.

Many of our friends and allies were not very aware of the importance of the Black Sea region, and I am not referring just to the Black Sea itself, but to the entire geographic region. Unfortunately, recent events have proven that the region is complicated from the security and the economic point of view, and I'd say much of the tension is rooted in historical developments, but unfortunately there are tensions there that stem from the near past. We have to face them, because they evolve, this isn't something very clear and we cannot draw a line and say 'this is one part, this is another', there are fluctuations from the strategic and security point of view, the region is complicated and complex and is not something we could call a stable and secure environment, it's a changing environment. That is why Romania has sought and succeeded in making allies aware of this situation. (...) NATO has a strategy for the Black Sea, it has a good presence in the region, we have many initiatives, Klaus Iohannis emphasized.