NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in an interview with Fox News that Romania has restricted commercial flights from Bucharest to facilitate US military operations in the conflict with Iran.
He made his comments ahead of a meeting with President Donald Trump to highlight the support provided by European states to US military actions.
Rutte shared that 500 U.S. planes utilized Italian bases during Operation Epic Fury and Bucharest had to cut down on commercial air flights for U.S. forces to store tanker facilities at the city’s airport in the interview on Tuesday.
On average, the main hub, Henri Coanda International Airport sees around 150 flights per day.
Romanian officials haven’t provided specific details about how Bucharest helped the US but in March it agreed to allow the U.S. to use air bases to refuel aircraft involved in the US-Israeli war on Iran.
President Nicusor Dan called it a “temporary deployment of American military equipment and forces in Romania”.
In the interview with Fox, Rutte praised Trump’s Iran strategy in the interview and addressed the president’s frustration with allies.
“I think the president is doing exactly what is needed, degrading Iran’s nuclear capability,” Rutte said Tuesday on “Special Report.”
“Could you imagine if Iran would get its hands on a nuclear weapon?” he continued. “This is an exporter of chaos. It is an exporter of terrorism. It would be devastating for the region. It would be devastating for the whole world.”
The NATO leader said he “totally” understands the president’s disappointment with the alliance but clarified that allies have provided military to the U.S. during the conflict with Iran.
Trump unleashed fresh insults against NATO on Monday, saying allies ‘weren’t there for us’.
“When it comes to NATO, I know there is disappointment,” Rutte said. “But let’s also see that these are isolated cases, because there is something more to say about this. Country after country, ally after ally after ally, have made their bases available for Epic Fury.”
Rutte then shared details about planes utilizing Italian bases during Operation Epic Fury and Bucharest cutting down on commercial air flights to allow U.S. forces to store tanker facilities at the city’s airport.
