Members of the Supreme National Defense Council (CSAT) discussed the establishment of a pilot training facility in Romania for the pilots who operate F-16 aircraft, according to an official statement.
Romanian pilots who operate F-16 aircraft will be trained in this centre, with the facility being later available also to to pilots from allied and NATO partner states, including Ukraine, according to the quoted statement.
Together with other allies and the company that designs this fighter plane, a regional hub will be created in Romania for the training of pilots who will fly these planes.
The first topic discussed within the CSAT sitting today, July 6. concerned Romania’s objectives at the NATO Summit, which will be held in Vilnius, between July 11-12, 2023. The meeting aims to reconfirm allied unity and solidarity and, at the same time, will analyze the progress made in implementing the decisions The 2022 NATO Summit in Madrid, with a focus on strengthening the Allied deterrence and defense posture and NATO’s response to the threat posed by Russia, continuing the Alliance’s adaptation and advancing Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration.
“The summit in Lithuania will thus provide an opportunity to discuss the consequences of Russian military aggression on Ukraine and the wider impact of this war at the global level, topics that will be addressed either in an allied format or with partners from the Eastern Neighborhood, the Western Balkans or the region Asia-Pacific.
In Vilnius, President Klaus Iohannis will once again bring to the fore issues related to the security of the Black Sea region, a subject of strategic interest both for Romania and for the entire Euro-Atlantic security, as it was consecrated last year at the Summit in Madrid, also at Romania’s proposal”, the press release pointed out.
“The NATO summit will also aim to strengthen the allied commitment to Ukraine, including by assuming a higher level of interaction through more intense political dialogue and from positions of equality. Thus, Vilnius will mark the transformation of the NATO-Ukraine Commission into a format that will lead to a deeper and more structured dialogue – the NATO-Ukraine Council. Romania has been and will continue to be an active supporter of Kyiv’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations, a fact also highlighted by the Joint Declaration for our country’s support of Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic perspective, signed by President Klaus Iohannis and President Volodîmîr Zelenski on the sidelines of the Political Community Summit European from the Republic of Moldova, from June 1. At the same time, Romania will continue to pay special attention and encourage maintaining the increased commitment of allies in relation to vulnerable partners in the Eastern Neighborhood, especially the Republic of Moldova, where security risks have increased with the war launched by the Russian Federation against Ukraine,” the press release also said.