(Bucharest) Romania and Bulgaria on Friday deemed “unacceptable” Russia’s request for the withdrawal of NATO foreign troops present on their soil, within the framework of a treaty that Moscow demands for a de-escalation of the Ukrainian crisis.
Posted at 10:51 a.m.
“Such a demand is unacceptable and cannot be part of the subjects of negotiation”, reacted the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release.
“Unacceptable and absurd”
The same reaction from Bulgarian President Roumen Radev: “Russia’s insistence […] is unacceptable and absurd,” said the head of the country’s armed forces, yet considered to have pro-Russian sympathies. “Our country does not accept an ultimatum from anyone.”
Prime Minister Kiril Petkov also insisted on the “sovereignty” of Bulgaria, “which made its own choice by joining NATO” in 2004, like Romania.
PHOTO STAFF OF THE ARMED FORCES, VIA AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
This photo taken from the bridge of a French ship shows the Romanian frigate Regina Maria during maneuvers in the Black Sea on December 20, 2021.
“We decide alone how to organize our defense in coordination with our partners,” he told parliament, stressing that Sofia cannot be “a second-class member”.
Russia, citing Romania and Bulgaria by name, had earlier called for “a withdrawal of foreign forces, equipment and armaments” in a bid to return to the 1997 situation in countries that were not then members of the EU. NATO. The list includes 14 countries from the former communist bloc.
The reinforcement of the Atlantic Alliance’s military presence on the south-eastern facade of Europe “is a purely defensive reaction to Russia’s increasingly aggressive behavior” in the region, Bucharest said. And this “despite NATO’s attempts to engage in constructive dialogue”.
EDUCATIONAL SITE MAP ALL OF EUROPE
This map shows in blue the member countries of both the European Union and NATO.
The day before, Romania had welcomed Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that France was ready to commit soldiers to the country as part of a possible increase in NATO’s presence.
About a thousand American soldiers, 140 Italian soldiers and 250 Poles are stationed in Romania, while Bulgaria has an agreement with the United States to host a training camp for 2,500 soldiers, with a maximum of 5,000 at the time of the periods. staff turnover.
“There are no allied contingents or equipment permanently based in the country,” Radev said.
Russia made its demands on the day of talks in Geneva on Ukraine between its head of diplomacy Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, with Washington accusing Moscow of planning an invasion of the ex-Soviet country that has become pro-Western and who aspires to join NATO.
To guarantee its security, Moscow is demanding that Americans and Europeans sign treaties so that NATO renounces any enlargement and returns to the security architecture built in Europe after the end of the Cold War and the fall of the USSR.