DefMin - US Secretary of Defence phone call: Black Sea security in COVID-19 context

Minister of National Defence Nicolae Ciuca and United States Secretary of Defence Mark T. Esper assessed on Wednesday, over a telephone conversation, the security situation in the international environment and in the Black Sea region, especially in the context of the development of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

"Appreciation was expressed for the mutual assistance provided in the efforts to combat the pandemic: the United States paying the costs of carrying out a mission with a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft from the Multinational Strategic Transport Unit, which carried in April medical protection equipment from Seoul to Bucharest, namely Romania's offer to carry to the United States a team of 15 military doctors and CBRN specialists, a mission that will be executed soon, after the completion of the necessary preparations, for a period of 14 days," a Ministry of National Defence (MApN) release sent to AGERPRES on Wednesday informs.

The agenda of discussions included issues of common interest regarding solidarity in combating the pandemic generated by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and cooperation between the armies of the two countries, both from a bilateral perspective and in an allied context.

"Regarding the bilateral military relations, the dynamic pace of their development was highlighted, ensured within the Strategic Partnership between the two countries. The options regarding the assessment of the Romanian-American military relations from the last ten years were analyzed, as well as the consolidation directions by setting up a working group at expert level to substantiate the key areas of collaboration for the next decade," the quoted source shows.

At the same time, the prospects of consolidating the presence of the US forces on the Romanian territory and the opportunities offered by the projects started by our country for the modernization of the infrastructure and the development of some military facilities were analyzed.

Current issues on NATO agenda were also addressed, with an emphasis on implementing allied presence measures on the eastern flank.

Minister Ciuca briefly presented to the US counterpart the stage of implementation of measures subsumed under NATO's enhanced forward presence on the eastern flank, highlighting Romania's important role in the development of allied command-control structures in the region.

"The South-East Multinational branch in Sibiu will ensure, together with the command of the Multinational Division in Bucharest and the South-East Multinational Brigade in Craiova, an essential security architecture on the eastern flank of the North Atlantic Alliance," Nicolae Ciuca said, according to the press release.

According to the Ministry of National Defence (MApN), aspects related to "the disinformation actions carried out by Russia and China during this period" were also discussed.