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Several NATO states will contribute with troops and military equipment to the Alliance’s effectives in Romania, while Romanian soldiers will be sent next to the UK troops to join the US-led battalion in Poland, NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg announced in Thursday, following the meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of NATO Defence Ministers in Brussels.
“We discussed progress in strengthening NATO’s presence in the Black Sea region. With a Romanian-led multinational framework brigade on land. And we are working on measures in the air and at sea. And I’m pleased to confirm that several nations indicated their willingness to contribute to our presence in the Black Sea region, on land, at sea and in the air, including Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Turkey and the United States. Other Allies are also looking into how they can contribute (…) And Romania and the United Kingdom will join the US-led battalion in Poland,” Stoltenberg stated.
Asked by Romanian journalist Cristian Unteanu to elaborate a little bit more on the measures regarding Romania, just in line of the decisions taken in the Warsaw Summit, the NATO secretary general said that the Alliance is in the process of deciding the shape and the design of the tailored presence in the southeast of the Alliance, with several nations announcing today (October 27) that “they’re ready to contribute forces and capabilities, both to enhance our presence in the air, at sea and on land and many elements are already agreed”. “But we are working on the full package of measures and we aim at being able to present and to agree and to conclude, at our defence ministerial meeting in February. So what I can say is that the work is progressing well. Several allies made announcements today that they’re ready to provide different kinds of forces but all the elements are not yet fully decided. So, some work remains to be done. And Canada and Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Turkey and the United States announced during the meeting that they will contribute to our increased or enhanced or tailored forward presence in the southeast of the alliance,” the NATO head added.
Asked what is the deadline of the deployment for the battalions and what weapons will they have, Stoltenberg answered that the decision taken in July was to start the deployment early 2017, and then be fully deployed by the summer. “That’s still the plan and we are on track and we are moving according to that plan. And actually, I’m very inspired by the meeting today because so many nations made very firm and concrete decisions and announcements on contributions to the four battalions: so they will be robust, they will be multi-national and they will be combat-ready. They will not be exactly the same in the four different countries but I can say that they will be robust, they will be combat- ready and they will be reinforced battalions so they will deliver a very clear message of strength and deterrence from NATO.”
Late on Wednesday, the British Secretary of State for Defence Michael Fallon announced that UK would send Typhoon jets in Romania, arguing that the decision was taken due to the context in which both our country and the regional partners have asked for strengthened security in the Black Sea area. It is the first time these fighter jets are brought into Romania.
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