US Secretary of Defense pledges to continue working with Romania in Black Sea region
October 21, 2021, 3:01 am

US Secretary of Defense pledges to continue working with Romania in Black Sea region

Lloyd Austin/Facebook

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin pledged on Wednesday to continue to work with partners in the Black Sea region.

Austin said at a joint press conference with his Romanian counterpart Nicolae Ciuca: "We will continue to have about 1,000 soldiers, through rotation, in Romania."

Austin added: "The U.S. will continue to provide assistance to strengthen the maritime capabilities of Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Georgia."

At his meeting with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Austin stressed the increased interest of his country to continue the development and diversification of cooperation with Romania.

Romania-Sighisoara-Transylvania-Historic center/Pixabay

On his part, the Romanian president said that his country will continue to be a strategic partner and a trusted ally, firmly engaged in the political and military strengthening of NATO.

The Xinhua noted that Austin's visit to Romania is the second leg of his three-nation tour that also includes Georgia and Ukraine before he attends the two-day NATO Defense Ministerial meeting in Brussels, Belgium, which begins on Thursday.

Source: xinhua

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.