Romania’s top security council approved a US request to temporarily deploy military aircraft and equipment on its soil to help with its operations in the Middle East, President Nicusor Dan said.
The country’s parliament is also set to debate and vote on the request later on Wednesday, according to the president, who added that the equipment that’s poised to be sent to Romania has a “strict defensive role” and includes refueling planes.
People familiar with the discussions who asked not to be identified speaking about sensitive military issues told Bloomberg earlier on Wednesday that Washington seeks to send a number of aircraft to the Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase on the Black Sea shore and deploy as many as 500 soldiers to Romania.
The move follows a US decision in October to reduce the number of troops in Romania as Washington reassesses its defense priorities to focus on other parts of the world. That spurred anxiety among NATO’s eastern flank members that a broader pullback in military support for Europe may be underway while Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine continues.
The American appeal to Romania also comes after Madrid refused to allow the US to use its military bases to help the ongoing US military operation against Iran.
Dan said the request also includes “some monitoring equipment and some satellite communications equipment,” the latter to be used with the Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense System deployed to Romania more than a decade ago to counter potential threats from Iran. He didn’t mention the deployment of the 500 soldiers.
“I emphasize that this equipment is defensive and I emphasize that it is not equipped with actual weapons,” Dan said, adding that the kit will further increase Romania’s security.
Romania already hosts a few hundred American soldiers at the Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase and other bases in the country.
Posted by John3262005