Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday, April 13, that "Russia's brutal aggression against Ukraine has fundamentally changed regional, European, and Euro-Atlantic security," with a negative impact at the global level.

"As early as 2014, following the illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by the Russian Federation, NATO began a complex process of adaptation. We were aware that we were facing a security environment marked by new risks and threats and by the increasingly aggressive behaviour of the Russian Federation in the region. As a consequence, we developed the strengthened deterrence and defence posture of the Alliance on the Eastern Flank," president Iohannis said at the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, which he visited together with Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo and Romania's PM Nicolae Ciuca.

"However, Russia's brutal aggression against Ukraine has fundamentally changed regional, European, and Euro-Atlantic security and has global negative impact - on several layers. Therefore, to support Ukraine, which has been hit hard by this aggression, NATO and the European Union have taken concrete and substantial actions. Romania also acted quickly and efficiently, both at the governmental level and at the level of the civil society," he added, further referring to the humanitarian aid sent to Ukraine and the help offered to refugees, but also the security measures taken at NATO level.

In recent weeks, NATO has stepped up measures to prepare the Allied military forces and strengthen NATO's posture on the Eastern Flank, the Romanian president explained. Four new battlegroups are to be made operational as soon as possible, one of which will be placed in Romania, with the aim to "strengthen the security on the entire Eastern Flank, in a coherent and unitary manner, as a first step towards strengthening the Allied presence on the Flank."

The Romanian president also thanked PM Alexander De Croo for the Belgian troops' contribution to Romania. In addition, addressing the Romanian and foreign soldiers, he said they are "the concrete expression of our determination to further strengthen NATO's deterrence and defence posture in the Black Sea region."

In his turn, prime minister Nicolae Ciuca said that "we're living in difficult times that we never thought we would experience in the 21st century."

"We need to be prepared for a lasting crisis and a situation where this crisis will extend closer to our borders," he added, according to News.ro.

Similar to president Iohannis, Ciuca also said that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is "the most serious threat to Euro-Atlantic security in recent years."

"We strongly condemn the massive invasion of Ukraine, the ruthless attacks of Russian troops on civilians, which violate the provisions of international law and humanity, and deplore the tragic loss of life, enormous suffering and destruction caused by Russia's illegal, unprovoked and unjustified invasion," he added.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Presidency.ro)