Acting President: Romania will not send troops to Ukraine

Romania will not send military troops to the field in Ukraine, but can be, if necessary, a logistical hub for other troops, said interim president Ilie Bolojan on Thursday, after the European Council.

He said that, most likely, the Romanian defense chiefs will be at the meeting in Paris convened by French President Emanuel Macron. The interim president indicated that the Romanian representatives will be in Paris not because our country will send troops to the field, but because “Romania is a logistical hub so that these troops can reach, if necessary, the Ukrainian area.“

After the meeting of EU leaders, the interim head of state suggested the importance of convening a meeting of the Supreme Defense Council.

Bolojan also said that Romania’s defense spending will not double from one year to the next because our country, from this point of view, is in a better situation than the average of the states in the European Union.

He explained that Romania had a share of defense spending of over 2.2% of GDP last year, while the average for European Union countries was 1.9%.

“Romania, from this point of view, is in a much better position and a doubling of military spending from one year to the next is ruled out. There will certainly be a growth trend and it is very likely that, each year pursuing a bearable growth from all points of view, we will have this phenomenon,” the interim president pointed out.

According to Bolojan, these additional defense expenditures are for Romania’s security.

“So the security part, as long as it exists and is in good order, is not perceived. We cannot deny that we have a war on the borders of our country, not exactly on the borders of our country, but it is as clear as can be that, if this, let’s say, neo-imperial vocation of Russia, is maintained in the coming years, Ukraine may only be the first victim. And then, and in today’s document, these countries assess that Russia is a threat to the countries of the European Union and I believe that all of us who are on the Eastern border, all of us who have passed the tracks of history over us, understand more acutely what it is about. And practically, these additional defense expenditures are expenditures for the security of our country. This is the reality”, the acting president also said.