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British Secretary of Defense Gaving Williamson on Thursday stated that Romania plays a crucial role for the North Atlantic Alliance, while the UK will support Romania leading the Multinational Brigade South East, during the Scorpion Fury exercise.
At the end of his meeting on Thursday with the Romanian Minister of Defense, Mihai Fifor, the British official said that Romania is crucial and plays a very important role for the Alliance, while coordinating joint training exercises, hosting the NATO missile defense system and also the Multinational Brigade South East. He also wanted to announce that the British Army is going to support Romania leading the Multinational Brigade South East during the Scorpion Fury exercise and also that UK is going to hold a memorandum on a future defense cooperation.
Williamson specified that Romania is right to be concerned about the intensification of the Russian activity in the Black Sea area, while saying that Romania is not alone in dealing with this type of tensions.
Romania is right to be concerned about the intensification of the Russian activity in Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Black Sea and Azov Sea, he said, while adding that Romania is not facing alone this increasing tensions. NATO deals with dangerous and unpredictable challenges coming from all directions. Over the past year, the UK witnessed an increasing activity of the Russian submarines in the Northern Atlantic, said the British Minister, so that it is essential to stay united, for Romania and Great Britain are two nations that have a lot in common. Both countries play an important role in the North Atlantic Alliance and maintain security not only for themselves, but also for their friends and allies, said the British official.
Ministers Fifor and Williamson also went to the 57 Air Base "Mihail Kogalniceanu," where they met the pilots and the technical staff ensuring the service at the four Typhoon aircraft of the British Air Forces, alongside the Romanian staff from this military base.
A British detachment of approximately 160 troops (pilots and the technical personnel) are carrying out air police missions until August 31, backed by four Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, alongside the MiG-21 LanceR aircraft and troops of the Romanian Air Forces. This is the second time when a British detachment is being deployed to the Mihail Kogalniceanu air base for enhanced air police missions, together with the Romanian Air Forces, the first such detachment having been deployed here in May 1- August 31 2017.
The enhanced Air Policing under NATO command is the first collective peacetime defense mission meant to ensure the integrity of the air space of the Alliance. The joint air police missions contribute to the development and adjustment of the reaction and deterrence capacities, as well as to the consolidation of inter-operability between Romania and British air forces.
The deployment of the aircraft of the British Royal Air Forces to Romania proves the NATO unity and determination, as a reaction to the security challenges, says MApN.
