Iohannis, in consultation with US President: We need to make sure NATO is fully equipped to meet Russia's challenges

President Klaus Iohannis participated on Thursday in consultations with the President of the United States of America, Joseph Biden, and with the other leaders of the allied states that are part of the Bucharest Format (B9), context in which he underlined the need for NATO to be fully equipped to meet Russia's challenges, agerpres reports.

According to the Presidential Administration, the main topic of the consultations, conducted by telephone, focused on the worrying security situation in NATO's Eastern Flank and in the Black Sea region, in which President Joseph Biden presented the results of his recent discussion with the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, as well as his evaluation.

Discussions occasioned an exchange of views on the impact of Russia's actions on the security of allies and partners in the region and coordination between allied states, the Presidency said in a press release.

In his speech, Klaus Iohannis welcomed the dialogue in the Bucharest Format (B9), which confirms the value of this format of consultation and coordination between allies, especially in the current context of security challenges in the North Atlantic Alliance's Eastern Neighborhood.

President Iohannis emphasized the importance of informing, coordinating and consulting with allies in the face of these security challenges, emphasizing that maintaining the unity of allied states is essential at this time.

The head of state reiterated the need to strengthen NATO's advanced presence on the Eastern Flank, including and especially at the Black Sea, which is of strategic importance for Euro-Atlantic security as a whole.

"We need to make sure that NATO is fully equipped to meet Russia's challenges," the president said, according to the Presidential Administration.

Klaus Iohannis also expressed support for increasing the military presence of NATO and the United States, respectively, in Romania and in the Black Sea area, as an expression of the allied solidarity and the solid Strategic Partnership between Romania and the USA.