In a Romanian Parliament divided by disagreements between the ruling power and the opposition, a very rare unanimity was reached on a matter of national security. Without any reservations, the senators in Bucharest ratified an agreement with the United States on installing components of the American anti-missile shield on Romanian territory. Previously passed by the deputies, the agreement now only needs the President’s approval in order to come into effect. Foreign Minister Teodor Baconschi once again underlined the document’s strategic importance:
“This agreement is also important as it represents the first consecration of the strategic partnership between Romania and the US in the form of a bilateral and legally binding document. The installation of components of the American anti-missile shield is an important contribution to the security of Romania, the United States and the other NATO allies. The agreement is signed at state level, given the importance of the matter is refers to.”
Negotiations for Romania’s participation in this security project lasted for one year and a half. In February 2010, the National Supreme Defense Council accepted an invitation by US President Barack Obama for Romania to join the new defense system in Europe. This September in Washington DC, the agreement was signed by the two countries’ foreign ministers. Phase I of the system has been completed, consisting in the deployment in the Mediterranean Sea of the guided-missile cruises USS Monterey equipped with defensive ballistic missiles and the installation of an early warning radar in Turkey.
The strategic interceptor facility in Deveselu, southern Romania, will be built and made operational in Phase II, which is to be completed by 2015. Phase III, due for completion in 2018, will improve defense against medium and long range missiles through the use of a facility built in Poland. The entire project will be completed in 2020 and will ensure protection for the US and its allies against intercontinental missiles launched from the Middle East. The facility at Deveselu is a defensive one, as State Secretary Bogdan Aurescu, head of the Romanian treaty negotiation team, has repeatedly stated. The system is not directed against any country and cannot be used for attacks, neither technically, nor legally, Aurescu said.
Assurance from the US and NATO on the system’s defensive nature have failed to appease Russia, who is repeatedly demanding legal guarantees. Moscow has decided to activate its own missile system in the Kaliningrad enclave, in response to that it described as the threat posed by the US anti-missile shield.
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2025-04-03
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