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Chief of Defense Staff: Black Sea is a region of strategic interest for NATO.
The Black Sea is a region of strategic interest for NATO, and the consistent presence of some allied structures, especially American ones, in states like Romania, "contributes to the success that deterrence has in any situation and in a security equation", the head of the Defense General Staff (SMAp), general Daniel Petrescu, stated on Friday, told Agerpres.
He held a joint press statement with the commander of the United States Army Command in Europe, General Christopher G. Cavoli, in the context of the Central European Defense Chiefs' Conference in Bucharest.
According to Petrescu, this meeting establishes, in this region, "a unified, harmonized approach of the states that outline the Allied Eastern Flank".
"In order for deterrence to work, for our nations to be protected, we have the solution of further strengthening our defensive capacity and allied unity," the head of the SMAp pointed out.
The Romanian-American collaboration in the field of Defense, he said, leads to "the development of own capabilities and conveys the strategic message that the United States is interested in the security of Romania and the stability of the Black Sea region".
"The whole world learned its lesson after February 24, 2022. We all want the restoration of peace and the international legal order," Petrescu pointed out.
Christopher Cavoli spoke about the contribution of the Romanian troops to the allied defense.
You host NATO and US troops and contribute a lot to the extensive effort to deter Russian aggression, and I thank you and your army for this. Our Romanian allies are at the forefront of the exercise included in the Defender Europe program, he said.
Over 10,000 soldiers with over 1,700 technical means from 14 allied countries participated in the Saber Guardian 23 exercise, which ends on Friday.
Along with our country, 12 allied countries participated with troops and combat equipment for training in the multinational exercise - Albania, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Italy, North Macedonia, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Moldova and the United States of America.
The main sequences of the exercise took place in the Getica National Combat Training Center in Cincu, Brasov county, the Secondary Combat Training Center in Smardan, Galati county, the Secondary Combat Training Center in Babadag, Tulcea county, the ground-to-air firing range of the Air Defense Training School General Ion Bungescu in Capu Midia and the 57th Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base in Constanta county.
Saber Guardian is integrated into the Defender Europe exercise complex, planned by US Army Europe Command (USEUCOM) and led by US Army Europe and Africa Command (USAREUR-AF).
