Romania’s ambassador to the United States says NATO should permanently deploy forces in eastern European allied states to reassure allies and as a deterrent to Russia.
Romania has a 600-kilometer land border with Ukraine longer than any other NATO country, as well as a coastline on the Black Sea that is difficult to defend.
Aegis Ashore
It also houses Europe’s only operational Aegis Ashore missile defense facility, making the country a target of Moscow’s ire.
“What we need is a permanent presence of United States soldiers,” Romanian ambassador to the United States Andrei Muraru told the Washington Post, noting the southeastern flank of NATO must be reinforced.
“This is what we need — a permanent presence — because as we’ve seen in the last seven years, Russia is not a friend,” he said. “This is very, very clear. Romania is a country with a long and traumatic history with Russian aggression.”
US forces
Romania which joined NATO in 2004 feels vulnerable and is pushing for additional U.S. forces on its territory.
A total of 1,000 U.S. soldiers are to arrive in Romania from a U.S. installation in Germany, adding to the 900 U.S. troops already in that eastern European country.
Eastern European members of the alliance including Romania, Poland and the Baltic states are calling for more U.S. forces as a deterrent against Moscow which once controlled their territory.
The U.S. has deployed about 2,000 additional troops from Fort Bragg in North Carolina, mainly to Poland, in response to the Russian building on the Ukrainian border to reassure allies close to Russia.
Eastern flank
U.S. officials said on Friday 3,000 from the 82nd Airborne Division would join them, taking the total to 5,000 within days.
The U.S. will consider rotating additional U.S. troops through NATO member countries on Europe’s eastern flank, should Russia mount a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
NATO will also beef up its presence in those countries with forces and armaments, U.S. and European officials said this week.
Russian border
The White House has repeatedly warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that if he is concerned about NATO’s presence near the Russian border now, that posture will only intensify if he chooses to invade Ukraine.
“A full-scale Russian invasion would do nothing but galvanize solidarity in the alliance,” James Stavridis, former NATO supreme allied commander for Europe told the Post.
“It would also open the door for permanent deployments into NATO member states on the Russian border, most notably Poland.”
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