Increased NATO attention to the eastern flank

Following Russia's repeated attacks on the Ukrainian ports on the Danube river, pieces of a Russian drone were found a few days ago on Romanian territory as well, in a village in Tulcea County near the Ukrainian border. Officials from Ukraine's foreign ministry were actually the first to report the incident, but the Romanian defence ministry initially denied the information.

Later on, however, the institution revised its position, but added that "the intelligence provided by electronic surveillance and other monitoring systems did not reveal direct military threats against our national territory or against Romania's territorial waters." The defence ministry also announced that it appointed field research teams, including on the Danube, for additional inquiries.

Romania has been in permanent contact with NATO, Bucharest also said. In fact, the Alliance's secretary general Jens Stoltenberg announced that Romanian authorities had notified the Allies about the drone pieces found in the country and that an investigation was on-going, pointing out however that there was no evidence of a deliberate move by Moscow, but rather that it was an accident.

On Wednesday, during talks with the foreign affairs and defence committees in the European Parliament, Stoltenberg mentioned that NATO has a stronger than ever presence on the eastern flank and that all member states are defended under the new military plans.

In the context of this situation on the Romanian-Ukrainian border, the Romanian defence minister Angel Tîlvăr, talking in Bucharest with the US Ambassador to Romania Kathleen Kavalec,appreciated the Allies' strong solidarity. The two officials discussed the situation entailed by the Russian Federation's recent attacks against Ukraine's Danube ports, close to the Romanian border.

The case was also approached during a telephone discussion between Romania's foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu and the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. They also discussed means to strengthen bilateral cooperation in order to protect airspace security and, in this context, mention was made of the deployment by the US Air Forces of F-16 aircraft on Romanian territory.

According to a news release issued by the foreign ministry, the Romanian diplomacy chief also welcomed the US and the Allies' support and solidarity with Romania and emphasised the importance of NATO staying alert to the developments at the Black Sea and in the region.

In turn, the US Secretary of State highlighted the US solidarity with Romania and thanked Bucharest for its support for Ukraine and for the additional measures taken in order to facilitate the transit of Ukrainian grains. According to the Romanian foreign ministry, the US official appreciated Romania's interest and involvement in identifying efficient solutions in this context, jointly with the US, the European Commission and Ukraine. (AMP)