Minister of National Defence Mihai Fifor, currently on a visit to the US together with the Chief of Staff General Nicolae Ciuca and the Secretary of State for Armaments, Florin Lazar Vladica, on Monday, participated in a round table with the members of the Atlantic Council, which took place in Washington DC, reads a press release of the Ministry of National Defence (MApN).
During the talks, Mihai Fifor appreciated the dialogue and the Atlantic Council approach in the transatlantic consolidation of the Romania-US strategic partnership.
At the same time, the members of the Atlantic Council showed interest in the regional security dynamics and the national perspective on the evolutions in the Black Sea area.
There have discussed mainly security-related topics, in the context of the strategic developments of the recent years, which fundamentally changed the regional security environment, also with a direct and significant impact on the stability of the Eastern flank of the Alliance.
“We believe that we need a coherent, coordinated and articulated approach, both in political-military and operational terms, so as to re-establish the security balance and discourage such new aggressive moves in the Black Sea area,” said Minister Mihai Fifor.
Moreover, he pointed out that “it is very important to have a unitary approach at NATO level with respect to the Eastern flank, in order to ensure here a coherent allied presence, able to efficiently react to the entire spectre of challenges and threats to the Euro-Atlantic security. Romania remains a solid partner, predictable and trustful, while maintaining its commitment to contribute to the regional security and stability.”
The Minister of Defence specified that there is need of an active dialogue among the allies, especially between the US and Romania, to allow the promotion of our Romania’s standpoint in the general framework of development of an allied strategy in the Black Sea region.
They also presented the evolutions recorded in the implementation of Romania’s initiatives for the consolidation of NATO’s Eastern flank and the national development and modernization priorities of the defence capacity.
The delegation was accompanied by Romania’s Ambassador to the US George Maior.
On Tuesday, the representatives of the MApN will meet Defence Secretary James Mattis, at the Pentagon, and will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Arlington National Cemetery.