Romania and the American Anti-missile Defense Shield
The works on the Romanian military base in Deveselu, which will host elements of the American anti-missile defense shield, are on schedule, the Romanian authorities have announced.
Roxana Vasile, 21.08.2014, 13:46
Placing elements of the American anti-missile defense shield in Deveselu, in southern Romania, has from the very beginning irked Moscow, which considered them a big threat. Last autumn the Romanian press took over an interview the director of the Russian Institute of Strategic Planning and Forecast, Aleksandr Gusev, gave to the “Voice of Russia”, in which he says that another NATO base in Romania could become a threat for the naval military base the Russians have in Sevastopol, Ukraine, only 1,500 kms away from Deveselu. “Russia will not allow the Americans to transform the Black Sea into an area where tension can escalate. We have enough forces on the ground to counteract the US’s moves” Alexsankdr Gusev also said.
His interview was anticipating the events that were to come, namely the conflict in the region which, nevertheless, was not started by the Americans, but by the Russians themselves, which the West accuses of involvement in the conflict in the east of Ukraine. In spring Russia annexed Crimea, shocking the whole international community, including Bucharest. Washington pointed out from the very beginning that the American anti-missile defense shield in Deveselu was not targeted against Russia, and the Romanian Foreign Ministry also underlined that the shield’s purpose was exclusively defensive.
On Wednesday a delegation of the American Congress visited the site of the military base in Deveselu. The Romanian defense minister, Mircea Dusa, who was also in the area together with the deputy prime minister and minister of regional development, Liviu Dragnea, has given assurances that the infrastructure works to be made by the Romanian side are on schedule.
Mircea Dusa: “The Romanian side was in charge of the enclosure works, lighting system and until the end of the year we have to finalize the security and surveillance system. All the works incumbent on the Romanian side are on schedule”.
In turn, the deputy prime minister, Liviu Dragnea, has underlined that Romania has the financial resources for the completion of works on the water supply and sewerage systems, on the water treatment station as well as on the access roads through the Deveselu commune to the base.
Liviu Dragnea: “We are signing the funding contracts, the additional documents for supplementing the funding so as to be able to finalize, towards the end of November, the two important projects assumed by the Romanian side: the water supply and sewerage systems and the water treatment station”.
The American anti-missile defense shield in Deveselu will become fully operational next year.
