In a public statement on Tuesday, March 15, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said the war in Ukraine would not spread to NATO countries, but at the same time, reiterated the need to strengthen the Alliance's eastern flank, to prevent and discourage any possible attack.

"We do not believe that this conflict will spread to NATO countries, but on the other hand, we want to be very well prepared for any situation, so we need to strengthen our defence on the eastern flank. The eastern flank must be strong, so strong that no one can ever think of attacking it. This is NATO's concept of strength and deterrence, a power that makes any possible opponent give up an attack," Iohannis said after a meeting with Bulgarian president Rumen Radev.

"It is very clear that the eastern flank must be consolidated, it must be balanced in such a way that our part, the southern part, the part towards the Black Sea is as well consolidated and defended as the northern part, towards the Baltic. In this sense, we believe that we can prevent any conflict in our area," he added.

Romanian president Klaus Iohannis welcomed Bulgarian leader Rumen Radev in Bucharest on Tuesday. The two officials discussed the security situation generated by the Russian military aggression against Ukraine and ways to combat this conflict's effects.

In this context, president Iohannis also reconfirmed Romania's "total support" for the Ukrainian refugees and stressed the importance of "the rapid operationalization of the Bulgaria-Greece Interconnector" as a measure to reduce energy dependence on Russia.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Presidency.ro)