Ministry of National Defence of Romania
Ministry of National Defence of Romania
05/22/2023 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/22/2023 03:18
Participation of the Chief of Defence Staff in the seventh edition of the “Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum”
On Friday, May 19, The Chief of Defence Staff participated in the seventh edition of the "Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum", an event organized in Bucharest by the New Strategy Center think-tank. The Romanian official was invited to deliver a speech in the panel entitled "One Front, One Vision, One Strategy. NATO's Deterrence and Defence Policy Against Russian Aggression on the Eastern Flank".
The Chief of Defence Staff discussed the need to adapt the Allied defensive systems to the conditions imposed by the new era of collective defence, which was initiated once with the outbreak of the Russian Federation's war in Ukraine.
"Military buildup and unity have been the characteristics of NATO's response to the Moscow regime's armed aggression against the Ukrainian people. We are synchronized with what is going on at NATO level, including by synchronizing national defence planning with the Allied defence one. We are in the process of building up the forces in accordance with the terms of the plans, we are creating the command-control structures and delegating to the commanders the necessary authority to fulfill the established missions", General Petrescu declared during the debate.
At the same time, General Daniel Petrescu stated that the Russian Federation has turned the Black Sea basin into an area of operations, through frequent missile attacks launched from the Black Sea by the Russian Armed Forces against Ukraine. Russia's unjustified offensive actions against Ukraine have made the Black Sea and the Balkans a region characterized by permanent instability, with a potential to fuel frozen conflicts.
"The lessons learned from the conflict near our borders influence the way we plan and develop our own defensive capabilities, including through the preparation of the territory for defence and the provision of stocks, which are very important. In strict defence terms, because we are organizationally focused on the defence of the Allied territory, we are engaged in several lines of effort, such as the development of robust ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) capabilities, the survivability of strategic command-control systems, air defence, long-range precision firing capabilities and others," the Chief of Defense Staff pointed out.
General Petrescu emphasized that the main objective remains deterring Russia from militarily challenging the Euro-Atlantic space: "So far, deterrence has worked. There has never been a military threat against any NATO state. We are in a position to defend every square inch of Allied territory. In the national context, we are pleased with the budgetary allocation of 2.5% of the GDP for defence expenditures, starting this year. We are very careful that this allocation achieves the best effects. We are interested in the running procurement programmes for air force capabilities, portable anti-defence systems, short- and very-short-range AD systems, mechanized infantry capabilities, unmanned aerial systems, electronic warfare capabilities, naval capabilities, and others. At the same time, we are building mobility capabilities and providing host country the conditions for the Allied troops deployed here. It is our responsibility, as a state located on the Allied Eastern flank, to develop the necessary capacity required to strengthen the NATO forces on this flank.
Also, the military official showed that actions are being taken to maintain and even increase the participation of the Romanian forces in operations led by NATO and EU: "We have a consistent involvement in the EU's EUFOR ALTHEA mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, because we are aware that security in the Balkans is related to the security in the Black Sea. Therefore, we are building our security by strengthening our own defensive capacity and through the commitments we have undertaken within NATO and EU, respectively based on the Strategic Partnership with the United States. And I think we have to change together because only together can we achieve our goals in the field of defence".
During the conference, General Daniel Petrescu had bilateral meetings with Lieutenant General Karel Řehka, the Chief of the Defence Staff of the Czech Republic, with Vice Admiral Keith Blount (Great Britain), the Commander of MARCOM (NATO Maritime Command), and with Lieutenant General Stephen Kelsey (Canada), Deputy Commander JFC Naples (Allied Joint Force Command Naples).
The Chief of Defence Staff discussed the need to adapt the Allied defensive systems to the conditions imposed by the new era of collective defence, which was initiated once with the outbreak of the Russian Federation's war in Ukraine.
"Military buildup and unity have been the characteristics of NATO's response to the Moscow regime's armed aggression against the Ukrainian people. We are synchronized with what is going on at NATO level, including by synchronizing national defence planning with the Allied defence one. We are in the process of building up the forces in accordance with the terms of the plans, we are creating the command-control structures and delegating to the commanders the necessary authority to fulfill the established missions", General Petrescu declared during the debate.
At the same time, General Daniel Petrescu stated that the Russian Federation has turned the Black Sea basin into an area of operations, through frequent missile attacks launched from the Black Sea by the Russian Armed Forces against Ukraine. Russia's unjustified offensive actions against Ukraine have made the Black Sea and the Balkans a region characterized by permanent instability, with a potential to fuel frozen conflicts.
"The lessons learned from the conflict near our borders influence the way we plan and develop our own defensive capabilities, including through the preparation of the territory for defence and the provision of stocks, which are very important. In strict defence terms, because we are organizationally focused on the defence of the Allied territory, we are engaged in several lines of effort, such as the development of robust ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) capabilities, the survivability of strategic command-control systems, air defence, long-range precision firing capabilities and others," the Chief of Defense Staff pointed out.
General Petrescu emphasized that the main objective remains deterring Russia from militarily challenging the Euro-Atlantic space: "So far, deterrence has worked. There has never been a military threat against any NATO state. We are in a position to defend every square inch of Allied territory. In the national context, we are pleased with the budgetary allocation of 2.5% of the GDP for defence expenditures, starting this year. We are very careful that this allocation achieves the best effects. We are interested in the running procurement programmes for air force capabilities, portable anti-defence systems, short- and very-short-range AD systems, mechanized infantry capabilities, unmanned aerial systems, electronic warfare capabilities, naval capabilities, and others. At the same time, we are building mobility capabilities and providing host country the conditions for the Allied troops deployed here. It is our responsibility, as a state located on the Allied Eastern flank, to develop the necessary capacity required to strengthen the NATO forces on this flank.
Also, the military official showed that actions are being taken to maintain and even increase the participation of the Romanian forces in operations led by NATO and EU: "We have a consistent involvement in the EU's EUFOR ALTHEA mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, because we are aware that security in the Balkans is related to the security in the Black Sea. Therefore, we are building our security by strengthening our own defensive capacity and through the commitments we have undertaken within NATO and EU, respectively based on the Strategic Partnership with the United States. And I think we have to change together because only together can we achieve our goals in the field of defence".
During the conference, General Daniel Petrescu had bilateral meetings with Lieutenant General Karel Řehka, the Chief of the Defence Staff of the Czech Republic, with Vice Admiral Keith Blount (Great Britain), the Commander of MARCOM (NATO Maritime Command), and with Lieutenant General Stephen Kelsey (Canada), Deputy Commander JFC Naples (Allied Joint Force Command Naples).