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Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu welcomed on Wednesday Counselor of the U.S. Department of State Derek Chollet, official with the rank of Under Secretary as a senior policy advisor to the Secretary of State, visiting Romania, a context in which he appreciated the U.S. intense diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the security situation in the Eastern Neighborhood and thanked for the decision to consolidate the American military presence on the territory of Romania.
Bogdan Aurescu spoke about the deployment of a Stryker battalion with 1,000 American troops during this period. The head of Romanian diplomacy stressed that "strengthening the presence of U.S. military forces on NATO's Eastern Flank, at the request of allied countries in the region, including Romania, is a necessary step and a strong signal that demonstrates the strength of U.S.' commitment to the security of these allies, aimed at deterring the aggressive actions of the Russian Federation," reads a Foreign Ministry (MAE) press release sent to AGERPRES.
In this context, the Romanian foreign minister again rejected as "unacceptable" the threat of the use of armed force, as well as the attempts to undermine the current parameters of the European security architecture. In addition, he stressed the need to continue the principled approach of NATO and the U.S. and to maintain allied coordination and solidarity, Agerpres.ro informs.
The two officials stressed the importance of transatlantic unity and in terms of support for partners, as well as for maintaining NATO's open door policy.
They also agreed to continue close coordination on concrete steps to be taken at Alliance level, including on strengthening NATO's deterrent and defence stance, and on steps to be taken in the event of further Russian aggression in Ukraine, including the preparation of a consistent package of sanctions, with very good coordination on this issue between the EU and the U.S..
At the same time, the two officials evaluated the prospects of the evolution of the diplomatic approaches for obtaining the de-escalation of the security situation. Furthermore, there was reiterated by both officials that the strictly defensive nature of the Deveselu anti-missile facility, which does not host, will not and will not host offensive missiles, with the facility not being aimed at Russia, but having in view possible ballistic missile attacks outside the Euro-Atlantic area, from the Middle East.
In his turn, the American official expressed his special appreciation for the constant commitment assumed by Romania, as a strategic partner of the USA and a responsible and reliable NATO ally, for the stability and security of the Black Sea region, but also at European and Euro-Atlantic level. He thanked Romania for its coordination and substantial contribution in drafting the responses sent by the United States and NATO to Russia on January 26. He reiterated the American side's message on the need for a diplomatic solution to the current crisis and reaffirmed the US' unwavering commitment to Article 5 and the security of NATO allies, including Romania. The American official thanked Romania for its willingness to host the 1,000 American troops of the Stryker Battalion and for the rapid decision of the Romanian authorities in this regard.
Bilaterally, in the context of the celebration in 2022 of the 25th anniversary of the launch of the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the USA, it was agreed the need to boost political contacts and cooperation in areas such as energy or infrastructure, including major projects of strategic interconnections, Rail2Sea and Via Carpathia, respectively in terms of the Romanian-American efforts aimed at achieving the common goal of Romania's accession to the Visa Waiver program. The two officials pointed out the importance of holding joint events, both in Romania and in the United States, to mark this year's symbolic and particularly important moment of the evolution of the bilateral Strategic Partnership.
