Romania’s foreign minister says claims by Moscow that a NATO missile defense site in Romania was a threat to Russian security were “nonsense.”
Vladimir Putin
Bogdan Aurescu was responding to comments made by President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday during a visit by the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to Moscow.
“It is nonsense to say that a purely defensive site, which is not directed against Russia, but to possible missile threats from outside the Euro-Atlantic space, represents a threat to Russia,” he told CNN.
NATO has offered Russia the opportunity to check the missile defense site in southern Romania on the condition it allows the Alliance to do the same in Russia.
Ukraine
Mr Aurescu also rejected Russia allegations that Ukraine was poised to become a member.
“This is not on the agenda of the Alliance right now. There is no imminent decision to accept Ukraine as a NATO member state,” he said.
He also rejected demands by Putin to withdraw NATO troops from Romania and Bulgaria.
“ The essence of the NATO mission, which is collective defense. It is unacceptable to have any kind of third-party veto on this issue.”
Support
Support for NATO and the EU is “very high in Romania,” he said, according to a transcript the foreign ministry published. Authorities welcome promises made by the U.S. and France to deploy more troops in the country, he said.
He spoke ahead of a meeting of the Bucharest Nine. Foreign ministers of NATO’s Eastern Flank will discuss the security situation around the Black Sea region.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and the Ukrainian foreign minister will also attend the meeting.
De-escalation
The meeting will try to “to promote dialogue and to reach de-escalation in the region.
He was asked about neighbor Moldova, which has Russian troops stationed in a breakaway republic.
He said Moldova’s recent gas crisis with Russia was “perhaps a “very good” case study of hybrid action against a country in the Eastern neighborhood.”
Moldova
Russia threatened to cut off gas to its subsidiary in the former Soviet republic, unless all the debts were paid immediately. Moldova’s government wants to move closer to the European Union.
“Both Romania and the European Union have acted decisively in order to support the Republic of Moldova to cope with such kind of challenges.”
