The presidents of Romania and the US meet in Washington

The US has thanked Romania for its commitment to NATO.

Eugen Coroianu, 08.05.2024, 14:00

US President Joe Biden thanked Romania for its commitment to NATO in the 20 years since it became a member of the Alliance and for its leadership role in the Black Sea region. You exceeded all expectations, said President Biden, who received President Klaus Iohannis at the White House on Tuesday. Among the topics discussed were the deepening of the bilateral strategic partnership, the situation on NATO’s eastern flank and the situation in Ukraine. “I don’t think there is any NATO partner who has a stronger commitment to the Euro-Atlantic Alliance than Romania and the United States,” President Biden said at the beginning of the meeting. “What you’ve done and what we’re going to continue to do together is very important not only for Europe, but also for the whole world. You have been incredible. You’ve stood up, and the help that you’ve provided for Ukraine is real. It’s significant.”, the US President pointed out. “Today we lay the foundation for the next 20 years,” Biden also said, giving assurances that the United States stands firmly by Romania.

In his turn, President Iohannis said, among other things, that Romania not only joined NATO and has been a proud member of the Alliance for 20 years, but  it has worked on the bilateral relationship with the United States, which has become much stronger. “Unfortunately, the most important issue now is to find a way to reinstall peace in Europe. Romania is trying its best, with pretty good results (…). But nevertheless, we have to find ways to prevent Russia from winning this war in Ukraine. We have to work together,” Klaus Iohannis said.

After the meeting in the Oval Office, the Romanian President said that the issue of strengthening Ukraine’s air defense was also addressed: “President Biden also brought up this matter and I said that I am open to discussion, which means that I will have to discuss, at home, in the Supreme Defense Council, to decide what we can do, what we can offer and, obviously, what we can get in return, because it is, in my opinion, unacceptable for Romania to remain without air defense. I think we will find a solution. It’s about a single system, it’s a functional one, which will remain in Romania, the others being in an advanced stage of operationalization and it was about one of them”, Iohannis explained.

President Biden also thanked Romania for hosting American troops on its territory. (EE)