President Nicușor Dan maintains that incidents caused by Russian drones will not lead Romania to reduce its support for Ukraine. The head of state states that Bucharest supports Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova’s accession to the EU and their alignment with NATO standards.
In an interview with „The Julie Mason Show” on the American radio station SiriusXM, Nicușor Dan also discussed the relationship with the United States. Romania desires more American troops on its territory and increased investments from the US, the president declared.
"We are eager to have American soldiers"
Nicușor Dan was asked about the message he wanted to convey through the editorial recently published on Fox News, where he stated that Romania aims to play a more significant role on the international stage, not just to seek greater support from the United States.
"First and foremost, we have a long bilateral history of trust with the United States. Currently, our main concern is primarily defense and security, and secondly, the economy. As you know, we had military cooperation, a few months ago, our bases were used by American planes for refueling and defensive equipment," the president responded.
The head of state also mentioned the experiences of American companies that have already invested in Romania. "Economically, we already have several American companies that have invested in Romania, such as Ford, Microsoft, and have had a very good experience and a very good return on investment, and we would like to have more American companies investing in Romania. We have a tradition of very good training in the field of sciences, engineering, and at the same time, a good potential in terms of energy," the president stated.
Trump is right about defense spending
Asked if he is concerned about NATO's future and a possible change in the role of the United States in the Alliance, Nicușor Dan replied that he is not. However, he agreed with Donald Trump, who argues that the United States has supported Europe's defense for years without the allies' effort being balanced.
Drones do not change support for Ukraine
The president acknowledged that Romania is directly affected by the war initiated by Russia.
He mentioned that Romania cooperates with Bulgaria and Turkey to remove mines from the Black Sea. "But this does not change our support for Ukraine," emphasized the president.
Nicușor Dan stated that Romania will continue to support economic pressures on Russia and aid provided to Kyiv. "Our objective is to align our positions, to continue exerting pressure on the Russian economy through sanctions and to see how we can effectively support Ukraine in this war. This is the most important thing," the president said, referring to discussions at the UN General Assembly.
Support for the Republic of Moldova
Nicușor Dan also spoke about cooperation with the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. The president recalled that three weeks ago, he participated in a trilateral meeting in Chișinău with Maia Sandu and Volodymyr Zelensky.
Romania supports both countries' accession to the European Union and the alignment of their armies with NATO standards. "And we support Moldova, as well as Ukraine, for accession to the European Union, as well as for their compatibility with NATO standards, even though they are still independent," the head of state emphasized.
Nicușor Dan avoided commenting on the criticisms made by Donald Trump against the UN but admitted that the institution needs some reforms. However, he highlighted that the General Assembly remains important for dialogue among world leaders and for finding solutions to security crises.