President Nicușor Dan stated, on Wednesday, in his first press conference held at the Cotroceni Palace, that Romania’s relationship with the United States has overcome a moment of distrust that arose after the cancellation of the elections.
The head of state specified that this distrust was not officially expressed but manifested through positions of some members of the American administration.
"We had a moment of distrust after the cancellation of the elections, but I believe this moment has been overcome," said the president.
Regarding the evolution of the strategic partnership with the US, Nicușor Dan emphasized the need for continuing technical discussions on each level of cooperation before high-level visits.
"Furthermore, within the strategic partnership with the US, we have several levels of discussions. We have a very important discussion level in the military area, and on each level, there must be technical discussions before high-level visits," the president stated.
There has been no discussion about relocating US troops from Romania
The head of state ruled out the possibility of relocating American troops from Romania and emphasized the importance of European solidarity in the face of the Russian threat.
"There has been no discussion about relocating US troops from Romania. The Russian threat is for the entire Europe, and it's very important to have European solidarity, including on the package of increasing expenditures," said Nicușor Dan.
Referring to the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague (June 25), the president specified that the dominant theme of the discussions will be related to defense budget allocations.
"From the information I have up to this point, 90% of the discussions at the NATO summit will be about the percentage of military spending. So that will be the debate, and we have expressed our views," he said.
Romania has not been active enough
The president highlighted that Romania needs to intensify its role in promoting regional strategic interests, such as the integration of the Republic of Moldova into European structures.
"Romania has not been active enough, and this is something I wish to correct. That is, to support the interests of integrating the Republic of Moldova, for example, in the discussions that will start in the second half of the year on the 2028–2034 financial package," added the head of state.
Regarding any proposals to take on costs related to the presence of American troops in Romania, Nicușor Dan stated that there is currently no concrete initiative.
"For now, beyond a shift in the US focus towards Asia, towards Europe, which is a matter of years, there hasn't been a concrete discussion about relocations up to this point. There are extremely many options on the table. None of them has been aggregated, but neither has been discussed to reach a consensus," concluded the president.
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