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The balanced, long-term consolidation of NATO's defense and deterrence posture must be accelerated, President Klaus Iohannis said on Tuesday at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace in a joint conference with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.
"In terms of security, we have emphasized the need for the rapid implementation of the recent decisions made at the Alliance's Extraordinary Summit, especially the creation of the Battlegroup in Romania. The balanced, long-term consolidation of NATO's defense and deterrence posture across the entire Eastern Flank in response to Russia's aggression must be accelerated. It is clear that we need a united, coherent and stronger defense on the Eastern Flank in order to have a more effective deterrence, especially at the Black Sea," said the head of state.
President Iohannis stressed the need for a new NATO Strategic Concept, which must "reaffirm collective defense as a fundamental priority task of the Alliance and explicitly state that Russia is the main threat to NATO security."
The head of state thanked Prime Minister Alexander De Croo for the presence in Constanta of the Belgian contingent deployed as part of the NATO Response Force, together with other Allied forces.
"This contribution is part of the NATO measures to consolidate the deterrence and defence posture and the security of the Eastern Flank of the Alliance," Iohannis also said, mentioning that on Wednesday they will visit together the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Agerpres.ro informs.
The two officials discussed about the development of the crisis in Ukraine and its impact, as well as the response to it. The head of state emphasized the efforts of Romania to support the over 720,000 Ukrainian refugees that have crossed the border into Romania and the results of the activity of the hub in Suceava.
President Iohannis mentioned that it is also essential to consolidate the strategic resilience of the Allies, as well as that of the partners, especially the more vulnerable ones, such as the Republic of Moldova and Georgia.
"In this context, I have emphasized the full support of Romania for the Republic of Moldova, for its European path, and I drew attention to its firm and immediate support in managing the increased flows of refugees that the country is facing, together with multiple other challenges. We must ensure a substantial and coherent support for the Republic of Moldova, political, financial and logistical in nature, as well as in what regards energy security," said the head of state.
The discussions also regarded the topic of energy security at the European level.
"We agree in what regards the elimination, as soon as possible, of the energy dependency on the Russian Federation, as well as on the need to diminish the impact of high energy prices on consumers. We have convened, at the same time, to continue bilateral dialogue on the ways to increase the safety of energy supply of the European market, but also the measures to protect European citizens in the volatile context of the energy market," said Iohannis.
The two officials have emphasized the common interest for the consolidation of political dialogue and economic and sectorial cooperation.
