NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg hosted Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă at NATO Headquarters on Wednesday, 26^th October 2022 to evaluate Russia’s attacks in Ukraine and their impact on security in the Black Sea region.

NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg and Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă who recently met at NATO Headquarters handled the security of the Black Sea. During the meeting, Stoltenberg noted that NATO is strengthening its presence from the Black Sea to the Baltic Sea, including fighter jets from Canada and the French, Belgian, Dutch, and American troops. Stoltenberg also said that they sent a clear message that “NATO is ready to defend Romania and all other allies”. Referring to Moscow’s allegations that Ukraine is preparing to use a radiological “dirty bomb” on its territory, the Secretary General said: “The Allies reject this completely false accusation and Russia should not use false pretexts to escalate tensions.”

In his speech, the General Secretary also emphasized that NATO will not hesitate to support Ukraine’s right of self-defense, no matter how long it takes. He also called on Russia to “renew the UN grain agreement brokered by Turkey”, while saying that Russia’s war against Ukraine has turned part of the Black Sea into a battlefield.

The General Secretary thanked Romania for its support on the issue of common security. Romania allocates 2% of its gross domestic product to its defense budget. Besides, the country is home to one of NATO’s new multinational war groups, established after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and an important place for NATO’s ballistic missile defense.

The next meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs will be held in Bucharest, Romania, next month.