Romania’s ambassador to the U.S. on Friday said 1,000 American troops will be deployed to the Black Sea nation later this month after an announcement this week by President Joe Biden.
Ambassador Andrei Muraru said the extra troops would strengthen NATO’s Eastern Flank something that President Klaus Iohannis has called for in recent months as tension rise over the Ukraine crisis.
There are more than 100,000 Russian troops amassed near Ukraine’s borders stoking fears of a possible invasion.
„The plan is to discourage Russia and ultimately to ease the situation. It does not mean that Romania is in danger. It is (merely) proof that it will be defended,” he told Digi24.
However, the additional troops are “an implicit message to Russia that NATO is concerned about the Eastern Flank,” he said.
„This crisis was caused by Russia. Russia used a pretext to issue an ultimatum to the US and Europe, with unacceptable demands,” he said.
He reiterated that Russian President Vladimir Putin could not dictate whether countries such as Romania were NATO members.
He has no right to „tell independent and sovereign states what to do.”Russia has called for NATO troops to be withdrawn from Romania and Bulgaria.
NATO has a multinational land force of up to 4,000 troops in Romania, a member since 2004. The U.S. also has soldiers stationed at separate bases in Romania and in Bulgaria.
Seeking to reassure Romanians, Mr. Muraru said the U.S’s commitment to Romania was „serious and robust”, a fact shown by the deployment of U.S. troops to the country.
He stressed that diplomacy was preferable to war as tensions rise over the Russian troops at Ukraine’s borders.
We can only hope that reason will prevail, but at the same time we must be prepared for any kind of response,” he added.
U.S. reassures Romania of support amid concerns about Russia ‘aggression’ in region
