The recent statements of President Emmanuel Macron are not "a critique of the NATO structure", but he transmitted, rather, that there is "need for political consensus in the Alliance", said, on Tuesday, the French Ambassador in Bucharest, Michele Ramis.
The clarification was made in the context in which the French President stated last week, for the publication The Economist, that "we are currently experiencing NATO's brain death."
"What my president said is not a critique of the functioning of NATO itself. NATO is a very efficient organization, very structured, with a hierarchy that functions very well, that has interoperability and these statements did not refer to the military structure. He said that there is probably, inside NATO, a need for a higher degree of political consensus between allies, when individual decisions are being made. That is all. He did not question the pertinence," said Michele Ramis.
She was present, together with 20 other diplomats from NATO member states accredited in Bucharest, at a visit to Deveselu military base.
"NATO is a military alliance with its own rules. Maybe the bond should be tighter before political decisions made by some allies, because the stake is our common security," Ramis added.
Starting from Emmanuel Macron's statement, some of the ambassadors appreciated that Europe needs a "stronger voice" in NATO and emphasized the need for cohesion.
Germany's Ambassador in Bucharest, Cord Meier Klodt, spoke of the need for "more Europe" in the joint defence system.
"I believe it's clear for us all - we need more Europe in our defence system, we need cohesion, a higher impact of Europe, but not as a substitute, but it be more coordinated within NATO, this is Germany's position," said the diplomat.
Speaking of the statement of the French President, he evoked the response of the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel.
"The chancellor expressed herself in this sense and said that some expressions are better, some not. But I believe we understand the essential message, namely 'make Europe be heard more'. The fact that we are here today to see one of the fundamental pillars of the NATO defence system is symbolic," Cord Meier Klodt emphasized.
The diplomat spoke also of the awareness of the need for coordination. "I am convinced that France knows we can have the security we need, in a world of threats, only if we are coordinated. Maybe the topic and emphasis are different but we, Germany, strongly believe that only in this system can we overcome challenges," said the German ambassador.
The Turkish Ambassador, Fusun Aramaz, stated that the "alliance is strong, it is capable and we are completely dedicated to the Alliance".
Speaking of the relationship between Turkey and NATO, she emphasized the regional context. "We must have a dialogue with Russia, because we are part of the same region and although we emphasize frequently that we do not agree with Russia on all levels, we have in fact a lot of topics on which we do not agree - for example the illegal annexation of Crimea and the activities in Eastern Ukraine - on the other hand we must maintain a dialogue. For example, in Syria, in the field," said Fusun Aramaz.
Furthermore, she emphasized that Turkey bought S-400 rockets from Russia for matters that pertain "strictly to national security".
"I explained that the purchase of S-400 rockets from Russia is completely related to our national security and will not interfere with the Alliance's position and will not be integrated in the Alliance system, but they were acquired simply for reasons of security in the region, if you think of Syria and other places," the ambassador stated.
She emphasized that Turkey's army is "the second biggest army in NATO, it is very disciplined."
The Ambassador of the United States of America, Hans Klemm, who initiated the invitation to the ambassadors to the military base, spoke of the event.
The objective was to show the investments that Romania and the United States of America have undertaken here, in Deveselu, as strategic partners but also as allies, to make available a missile shield for NATO and the transatlantic community, to show the functions of the facility and then to emphasize that this is a NATO facility, the result of investments from Romania and the USA, Klemm said.
He recalled that the missile defence system Aegis from the Deveselu military base was inaugurated in 2016 and emphasized the exclusively defensive role of the system
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