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The Chief of the Defence Staff (SMAp), General Daniel Petrescu, and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General Tod D. Wolters, on Thursday met at the headquarters of the 57th Air Base Mihail Kogalniceanu, in the context of the deployment in Romania of the TF Cougar detachment from Germany.
According to a press of the Ministry of Defence, the two officials discussed the dynamics of the security situation in the Black Sea region and the measures taken to strengthen NATO's position of deterrence and defence in this area of the eastern flank. They also addressed the topic of the future joint training of the US troops with Romanian Army troops.
General Petrescu remarked that the presence of the allied structures in Romania represents both the result of an excellent security cooperation with the NATO member states, especially with the United States of America, within the Strategic Partnership, and the result of the sustained steps that Romania has taken in strengthening NATO's defensive alignment on the eastern border and in the Black Sea region.
"Depending on the conditions of the security environment, we will continue to adjust the training with the American troops, which training has led in time to various joint missions in different theatres of operation. We also to intend to further strengthen the comradeship already existing between the Romanian and US troops, which was built with sacrifices in the theatres of operations, where we carried out combat missions together. If needed, this comradeship will translate into concrete allied defence missions," General Daniel Petrescu said, as quoted in the abovementioned press release.
While underscoring the important role that Romania has in the allied security architecture in the Black Sea region, General Wolters specified that every defensive measure taken by NATO represents the implementation of the cohesion of the allied states to ensure the security of the entire allied space, Agerpres.ro informs.
We are here at the invitation of Romania to increase the common capacity to react, as well as to maintain the balance of forces in the region. The increased attention that NATO pays, in general, to the Central and South-Eastern Europe proves the capacity to react and carry out multinational operations to maintain a climate of peace in these areas, the official said.
At the same time, the soldiers from the American detachment will be trained together with their comrades and their hosts, the soldiers from Romania. The current deployment is primarily an opportunity to improve our tactical skills and increase the interoperability of forces, said General Tod D. Wolters.
The Chief of the Defence Staff and the commander of SACEUR evaluated, at the end of the meeting, the supplementation of the American troops in Romania, but also in other areas of the eastern flank as a strong signal of NATO solidarity and determination. At the same time, the arrival of approximately 1,000 American troops, who join the 900 already present here, contributes to the increase of the feeling of security of the Romanian citizens.
