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NATO's eastern flank must be strengthened in the context of the war in Ukraine, at the level of the one in the Baltic Sea area, in order to prevent any conflict in the area, President Klaus Iohannis said on Tuesday, after the discussions held at the Cotroceni Palace with his Bulgarian counterpart, Rumen Radev.
"We do not believe that this conflict will extend to NATO countries, but on the other hand, we want to be very well prepared for any situation, that is why in the eastern flank we must bolster the defense. The eastern flank must be strong and must be so strong that no one ever has the idea that it should attack on the eastern flank. This is NATO's Strenght and Deterrence concept, which makes any possible adversary give up an attack. It is very clear that the eastern flank must be strengthened, it must be balanced in such a way that our part, the southern part, the part towards the Black Sea is as well consolidated and defended as the northern part, towards the Baltic, in this sense we believe that we can prevent any conflict in our area," the president said, at the joint press conference with the visiting Bulgarian counterpart.
President Iohannis stressed that the security and stability of the Black Sea are very important, and each riparian state has a responsibility to ensure them.
"Romania will continue to act as a state responsible for ensuring the security of our citizens and the region, being fully open to cooperation with Bulgaria for this purpose," the president said.
The Bulgarian President asserted that there are risks and in this context joint efforts are needed to neutralise them.
"We should always think in perspective and think preemptively about the risks. You can see that drones have already begun to fly, they're going all the way to Croatia. Yesterday a drone fell in Romania. We have blows that are a few kilometres from the Polish border, which is very worrying. There is a potential for also destabilising the situation in Moldova, Romania's neighbours, so that the risks exist, are present and that is why our joint efforts should lead to neutralizing these risks," Rumen Radev said.
The central topic of the discussions between the two high officials was the serious security situation generated by the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, as well as the combating of its multiple effects.
President Klaus Iohannis reconfirmed Romania's full support for all the refugees from Ukraine who come to our country and presented the measures adopted to help them.
The two top officials also discussed the steps taken to provide humanitarian support, including through the operation of the logistics center in northeastern Suceava, which collects and transfers to Ukraine and, if necessary, to the Republic of Moldova, the international aid.
"It is quite possible that the flows of refugees will increase. That is why I have discussed with President Radev the best ways of coordinating so that we can cope well with this crisis without precedent," President Iohannis said.
The Romanian president stressed the need for the EU, together with all its member states, to provide support to the Republic of Moldova in the context of the large number of Ukrainian refugees, as well as in terms of increasing its resilience.
