Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday said his country will not send troops to Ukraine, amid speculation that that could be a possible scenario with no end to the war in sight.
Speaking with reporters in the Peter Kraului Park, on the occasion of the International Day of Biodiversity, he said the discussion on Romania sending troops was a moot point.
He declined to comment on Romania providing US Patriot anti-missile systems to Kiev, saying a decision should be discussed with military experts and the Supreme Council of the National Defense, an advisory body under the head of the state.
Iohannis said that he was not willing to discuss the issue of a possible supply of the Patriot system to Ukraine „in a public space.” He stressed that the supply of a Patriot was a complicated process connected with a range of logistic and legal problems; „let alone the fact that I’m under no circumstances ready to accept that Romania will be deprived of anti-missile and air defense.”
The issue of sending troops to Ukraine arose after lawmakers in European parliaments discussed entrusting countries such as Romania, the Czech Republic or Poland with the creation of a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
Lawmakers suggested that the countries should use their anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense systems to destroy targets in Ukrainian airspace, a clear reference to Russian fighter jets.
„Romania will not send fighters to Ukraine, the discussion is simple and I think that’s what it’s over,” Iohannis said.
Many NATO members have sent military and humanitarian aid, but none have sent actual troops. In February, French President Emmanuel Macron Macron was the first leader to publicly bring up the subject saying there was „no consensus” on the sending of European ground troops to Ukraine, adding that „nothing should be excluded to achieve our objective. Russia cannot win that war.”
Iohannis also spoke about the cost of new military equipment for the Romanian Army, he said that a lack of weapons and inflation has made procurement more difficult.
He said Romania did not have a multiannual budget, and public procurement rules should be improved across the EU, due to the difficulty in planning military acquisitions with annual budgets.
Referring to a statement made by the Chief of Army Staff, who said that this endowment process must be accelerated, the president said: „Romania does very well.. in the area of endowment, but public procurement rules often artificially stretch the process very much.”
„It is an issue that has also been discussed at another level, that maybe even in the EU we need to improve the public procurement rules.”
