BRUSSELS: Romania wants more NATO troops and military equipment in the Black Sea to deter attacks, while proposing a regional command whose headquarters and leadership would rotate among Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey, President Nicușor Dan said here on Thursday.
Dan said Romania wanted its concerns over Black Sea security reflected in the conclusions of the European Council summit in Brussels. Bucharest is also seeking support for a Civil Security Centre that it plans to build jointly with Bulgaria.
“We are very interested to see our concerns on the Black Sea included in the conclusions,” Dan said, adding that Romania wanted support for the proposed centre.
The Romanian president said he and the Bulgarian prime minister would discuss the recent security incidents with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte later in the day to examine how the two countries could improve their preparedness.
Asked whether Romania would invoke Article 4 of the NATO treaty, which allows a member to request consultations when it believes its security is threatened, Dan said it was too early to make a decision.
“Only a small number of hours passed so far, we want to have all data of what happened. There will be a reaction of the state,” he said.
Dan did not confirm whether Romania would formally trigger Article 4.
On the proposal for a NATO command for the Black Sea, Dan said: “We want it to rotate its headquarters and its leadership between Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria.”
Asked whether Romania would request more NATO troops in the region, he said: “Every country wants more troops in order to discourage attacks. We want this too.”
Dan said additional equipment and the Civil Security Centre were among Romania’s priorities. He also addressed the safe maritime corridor coordinated by Romania and Bulgaria, saying economic considerations influenced the routes chosen by shipping companies.
“It’s a question of economics, it’s cheaper for ships to take a route further from shore,” he said.
On energy security, Dan said the wider Caspian region was important, but stressed the need to secure the Black Sea first.
“The entire Caspian area is important for energy security. We need to secure the Black Sea area in order to collaborate,” he said.
The remarks underline Romania’s push for greater NATO attention to Black Sea security and for a stronger regional capacity to respond to threats.
