From Cincu, in
\nthe centre, to Mihail Kogalniceanu, in the south-east, many military bases in
\nRomania are playing host this month to the Saber Guardian 2017 exercise. Hosted
\nby other neighbouring countries as well and led by the US Army Europe, this is
\nthe largest and most complex exercise carried out on Romanian territory in
\nrecent years, as the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest has pointed out. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
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Around 20 NATO
\nmember and partner states are taking part with a significant number of troops
\nand technical resources, which, according to the Romanian diplomacy, lends the
\nexercise an important military role, contributing to the consolidation of
\ndefence and deterrence on the eastern flank of the North-Atlantic Alliance and
\nthe development of interoperability between the participating countries. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
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The exercise
\nalso represents a confirmation of the solidity of the Trans-Atlantic
\nrelationship and of the bilateral strategic partnership between Romania and the
\nUnited States, which was signed 20 years ago, the Foreign Ministry also notes. Lieutenant General Ben
\nHodges, the commander
\nof U.S. Army Europe, also hailed the excellent bilateral military cooperation
\nand the efforts made by Romania to modernise its army. Bucharest, which he
\ndescribed as a reliable partner, will this year allocate 2% of the GDP to
\ndefence, said the American army official, who praised the quality of the young
\nRomanian military and their commanders and their commitment to contributing to
\nthe security of the Black Sea area. <\/p>\n
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\n
\n
\n
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Romania is a consistent and
\ntrustworthy partner, the Czech general Petr Pavel, the Chairman of the NATO
\nMilitary Committee, also said. He hailed Romania’s contribution to NATO’s
\noperations, saying this country is one of top ten contributors to the
\nAfghanistan mission. Coming from a central-European country occupied by the
\nSoviets for half a century, general Pavel was keen to emphasise, for Radio
\nRomania, that NATO’s actions to strengthen its eastern flank are not meant as a
\nthreat to Russia. He said the Alliance simply wishes to be ready at any time to
\ncounteract any potential act of aggression, while being always willing to
\nengage in dialogue with Russia. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Romania’s president Klaus
\nIohannis also attended a Saber Guardian exercise at the shooting range in
\nCincu, where the Romanian military trained alongside troops from the United
\nStates, Ukraine, Armenia and Croatia backed by American and Romanian aircraft. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
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Although the opponent was
\nunnamed, the exercise comes at a time when the West is concerned about a more
\naggressive Russia, notes the American magazine Stars and Stripes, which recalls
\nthat in the last three years, the US has led larger and more intensive
\noperations meant to boost the ability of allies to fight together. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Romania plays host to one of the largest and most complex NATO exercises in recent years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":105,"featured_media":74248,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[32288],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-74247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-saber-guardian-2017"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n