US President Joe Biden will welcome Romanian President Klaus Iohannis to the White House on Tuesday.
The leaders will celebrate Romania’s 20th year as a member of the NATO Alliance, the White House said.
President Biden will thank President Iohannis for hosting U.S. service members in Romania, and recognize „the many contributions that Romania, a stalwart NATO Ally, has made to security on NATO’s eastern flank, particularly in the Black Sea region,” said Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a statement ahead of the visit.
The two leaders will underscore their „continued support for Ukraine as it continues to defend itself against Russia’s aggression.”
Romania shares a more than 600-kilometer border with Ukraine and has helped thousands of refugees since Russia staged its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022.
The U.S. and Romanian presidents will also review the many areas in which Romania and the United States work together, including energy, economic cooperation, and shared democratic values.
President Iohannis will end his mandate later this year after two five-year terms in office.
In March, he launched his bid to be NATO Secretary-General to replace outgoing Jens Stoltenberg.
He said he had an in-depth understanding of the region and the assets it has to make good decisions for the Alliance to bolster Euro-Atlantic security.
„The countries on NATO’s eastern flank are, at these times, in the first allied line of deterrence and defense to maintain Euro-Atlantic security in the face of Russian aggression,” he said.
„It is… a legitimate aspiration for an entire region that, throughout history, has constantly looked Russian danger in the eye to have greater representation in NATO’s leadership structures.”
