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American Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Bucharest, where he is attending the Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs from NATO member states. In a statement held at the Romanian University, where he was present alongside Nicolae Ciucă and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, Blinken emphasized the importance of the strategic partnership. “We have an unshakable alliance,” said the US secretary of state.
The U.S. Secretary of State also had talks with President Klaus Iohannis in Cotroceni on Tuesday.
The Presidential Administration told a press release, that President Klaus Iohannis and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the Romania-USA partnership, the war in Ukraine, energy and the Visa Waiver program. “President Klaus Iohannis and Secretary of State Antony Blinken appreciated the current positive dynamics of bilateral relations and reiterated their commitment to the further development and deepening of the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the United States of America, in all its dimensions. The two senior officials had a substantial exchange of views on the complex regional context, marked by the exacerbation of the economic, social and humanitarian effects of Russia’s continued aggression in Ukraine, and respectively on the measures taken to implement the decisions on strengthening the deterrence and defense posture on NATO’s Eastern Flank, especially in the Black Sea region, adopted during the Alliance Summit in Madrid,” reads the Presidential Administration press release.
The President of Romania expressed his appreciation for the role assumed by the US President, Joseph R. Biden, and the Washington Administration for ensuring unity within the transatlantic community and achieving close coordination between transatlantic and global leaders in order to manage the security situation in our country’s neighborhood , with an impact on Euro-Atlantic security. In this context, President Klaus Iohannis thanked for the recent addition of the American military presence in Romania, in order to strengthen the deterrence position on the Eastern Flank of the Alliance and as an additional measure to ensure the security of our country and the entire region. The President of Romania evoked the historic character of the decisions taken by the allies at the Madrid Summit and appreciated the need for immediate and comprehensive implementation, the ministerial meeting in Bucharest being an important step in the preparation of additional decisions regarding the strengthening of the deterrence and defense posture throughout The Eastern Flank, including the Black Sea, at the upcoming Summit in Vilnius.
During the discussions, topics regarding the continuation of the allies’ support for Ukraine were also addressed, in a context in which the Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed the USA’s appreciation for Romania’s consistent and multidimensional efforts, both by providing direct assistance, support for refugees, respectively for the transit of cereals, but also by coordinating international efforts in support of the neighboring country.
President Klaus Iohannis also emphasized the need to continue the support of partners for the Republic of Moldova, on which occasion he evoked the substantial impact of the conflict in Ukraine and presented the support measures adopted by Romania in critical areas, with an emphasis on the energy sector.
“During the discussions, President Klaus Iohannis and Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated the common interest to work together to record concrete progress in terms of Romania’s accession to the Visa Waiver program”, the statement of the Presidential Administration states.
Blinken-Ciuca talks
During the meeting with the Romanian PM Nicolae Ciuca, Blinked recalled that he had been in Bucharest before when Presidents Clinton and Constantinescu announced the launch of this strategic partnership.
“It was a moment when the Romanian people were a source of inspiration for everyone in search of freedom. I don’t think that the two presidents could have time to imagine what the situation will be like in 25 years with so many ties in economic, political and personal relations. We have an unshakable alliance based on common values that we will defend. We have built strong relationships in the economic field, including in the energy one. Academic and cultural exchanges have led to exchanges of people, of ideas between our countries,” said Antony Blinken.
Romanian PM Nicolae Ciuca said in his turn that the strategic partnership with Romania has reached the highest level in its history of a quarter of a century and voiced conviction that this generation will do everything in its power to defend the freedom, rights and values won and that it appreciates the true relevance of the strategic partnership.
“Your presence here confirms the interest that the USA gives to the strategic partnership between Romania and the USA, I assure you that the Government of Romania will do everything in its power to consolidate and expand this partnership.
The political-military component of the strategic partnership is a very important one, and your presence in Bucharest takes place in the context in which the MFA organized the meeting of the NATO foreign ministers, which takes place shortly after the Madrid summit and for the first time after Romania hosted the first NATO summit in 2008, also in Bucharest. Thank you for the commitment of the US, for the presence of the US military in Romania and the importance you give to strengthening, deterring and defending NATO’s Eastern Flank. The economic dimension is very important, I appreciate the economic cooperation and the increase of American investments in Romania,” said the Head of the Bucharest Government.
The Romanian PM added that energy has become a much more important topic than we would have thought some time ago.
“We have a collaboration in the civil nuclear field and the US intention to finance the construction of reactors 3 and 4 has already materialized through that offer of 3 billion, it should be emphasized as an important element of the strategic partnership. The development of small modular reactors represents a very important area of cooperation between specialists from the USA and our country, the place in Romania at Doicești, where the first reactor is to be located, has already been chosen. There are other lines of cooperation in energy, the intention already announced in the development of the capabilities of new energy sources, especially wind, is a very important field. They will ensure that we fulfill our ambition to expand the range of new energy sources and achieve our energy independence. We offer our willingness to support countries that do not have the ability to produce energy”, said Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă.
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