Russia is a growing threat that America and Europe cannot afford to ignore. Romanian airspace has been violated by drones dozens of times in recent months. According to press reports, American intelligence believes Russia may test NATO’s resolve with a limited move against an allied country.
For Romania, none of this is abstract. We sit on NATO’s southeastern flank, on the Black Sea, and we share the longest border with Ukraine of any ally. We have watched this from its edge for years, with drones crossing into our airspace and debris falling on our territory. We have learned by direct experience that deterrence is tested first at the perimeter of the alliance.
The partnership between Romania and the United States was built for moments like this. Its strength rests on two things: geography and reliability. Geography we did not choose. Reliability we have earned. When Operation Epic Fury required access and support, Romania was among the first allies to answer. Quickly and publicly. That is what a trusted partner does.
That is why I recently sent our national security advisor and our chief of defense to convey Romania’s commitment to Black Sea security, to NATO burden-sharing and burden-shifting, and to deeper strategic partnership with the United States. I asked them to keep that conversation going, in Washington and at NATO headquarters, to answer whatever questions our American allies may have. And to make clear that Romania is prepared to raise both the level of its commitments and the speed at which it delivers them.
Behind that offer lies a simple premise. Romania is not asking America for more. Romania is offering to do more. We are grateful for American leadership and understand that gratitude must be matched by responsibility. The United States is right to expect Europe to carry more of its own defense, and Romania is backing that expectation with money and action, including the benchmark of spending 5% of GDP on defense by 2035.
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At Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, on the Black Sea coast, Romania began one of the largest military infrastructure programs anywhere on NATO’s eastern flank: roughly €2.5 to €3 billion in expansion and modernization under way or planned. Câmpia Turzii, Cincu, Smârdan, Babadag, Constanța and the Danube are being connected through a military logistics network, linking airfields, roads, ports, training grounds and supply infrastructure so Romania and the United States can rapidly move troops and equipment when needed most.
The modernization of our armed forces is anchored in American systems: Patriot air and missile defense, HIMARS rocket artillery, F-16s, Abrams tanks and 32 planned F-35As. This is not a shopping list. It is a decision to be interoperable with American and NATO platforms. And for Romanian forces to be ready on the first day of a crisis rather than the 30th.
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Because deterrence is not only about what NATO can do once a crisis has begun. It is about persuading an adversary, before that moment arrives, that aggression will fail and that the alliance will answer as one. That requires visible capability, resilient infrastructure and the political will to use both. It also requires allies to know they can count on one another, not only in Washington or Brussels, but on the ground, where geography and readiness decide how fast a decision becomes an action.
Europe’s answer to Russia includes Romanian runways, ports, training ranges, pipelines and air-defense batteries, as well as the support Romania provides its allies under pressure. A stronger Romania means a stronger southeastern flank. A stronger flank means a more secure Black Sea. And a more secure Black Sea strengthens NATO’s ability to deter conflict across the whole of Europe.
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We are prepared to invest, to host, to train, to modernize and to stand with our allies, above all with the United States.
Our message is therefore straightforward: Romania will not wait to be tested before it is ready.
