The relationship with the US, on the agenda, after Trump criticized the alliance
President Nicușor Dan will meet NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Thursday at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels before holding a joint press conference, around 10:30 a.m.
The visit comes before Dan attends the European Council meeting in Brussels, which starts at 11:00 local.
Talks will focus on global security developments and security on NATO’s Eastern Flank, with a focus on the Black Sea region, to strengthen deterrence and collective defense, as well as to increase Romania’s security through and with NATO’s support.
Relationship with the US
The meeting comes a week after Romania approved US President Donald Trump’s request to allow the deployment of US soldiers and military equipment in a defensive capacity on two Romanian bases.
Many NATO allies refused Trump’s requests to support the US in his Iran operation, and were rebuked by the US president.
“The President of Romania will highlight the importance of the transatlantic relationship, reconfirming our country’s role as an ally strongly involved in regional stability and security,” the Romanian Presidential Administration said.
Rutte: NATO seeks solutions for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz
In an interview for the Financial Times, Donald Trump declared that NATO will have a “very bad future” if allies do not help the US in Iran. The US president wants allies to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow sea canal between Iran and Oman through which about a fifth of the world’s total oil and gas transport passes.
In a statement Wednesday, Rutte said the alliance was looking for the best way to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“We all agree, of course, that trade must be resumed and the strait must be reopened. And what I do know is that allies are working together, discussing how to do that, how best to do that. They’re working on it collectively, to find a way forward,” Mark Rutte said on a trip to Norway, according to Reuters.
What topics on the agenda
Dan “will underline that Romania respects its commitments made at the NATO Summit in The Hague on increasing defense spending and will highlight the multidimensional assistance to Ukraine.”
“At the same time, it will (remind of) the need to strengthen NATO’s support for partners, especially the Republic of Moldova, targeted by Russia’s hybrid actions,” the statement said.
Previous meeting
The two last met in November 2025 when the NATO Secretary General visited Bucharest.
“‘We will intensify measures to strengthen our defense and deterrence position,” President Dan said at the time, in a statement in a .message on X.
The mistake the US made in Ukraine increases the price it pays in Iran
