Romania Will Host NATO Heavy Arms If Asked: Bloc Chief
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - A decision on whether Romania will host NATO’s heavy military equipment will soon be made public, General Philip Breedlove announced on his visit to Bucharest as the alliance’s armed armada parades through E. Europe as a “message of reassurance.”
“This decision will be announced very soon – how this all will be accomplished – and my expectation is that if Romania is asked to participate, they will do so as they have done in every NATO venture so far, and have been a great host and great allies,” NATO Commander, US European Command, General Breedlove said.
The commander did not elaborate on what kind of weapons NATO plans to deploy in Romania. Experts however believe that Romania will soon house a range of armored vehicles, anti-aircraft weapons systems, combat aircraft and artillery, RT reported.
As far as stationing NATO’s heavy military equipment in Romania, a portion of political analysts agree that NATO is just securing the alliance’s geopolitical borders and preparing for a long confrontation with Russia. The president of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems, Dr. Konstantin Sivkov, told Sputnik that this is part of an overall strategy by NATO to secure its eastern borders gained after the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact.
NATO, Siskov believes, could use such fortifications to potentially conduct a military operation that might aim to “take Moscow” within a month, if not countered by adequate measures. Given Romania’s vicinity, the fly-in time of NATO jets to a number of Russian key hubs and airfields would be reduced to less than half an hour, Siskov warned, adding that extraordinary measures should be taken to avert potential threats posed by NATO.
Breedlove and Romanian officials discussed the missile defense bases planned in the Romanian town of Deveselu due to become operational this year, although he did not comment on those talks during the press conference.
He did however speak about the so-called “Dragoon Ride” military roadshow – a convoy of over a hundred US Stryker armored fighting vehicles – sent on a trip through Eastern Europe as “a message of reassurance.”
NATO is ready to defend against so-called Russian belligerence, Breedlove stated. The exercise tested many things that “hadn't been done for a long time in NATO ... like multiple border crossings and which bridges are capable of handling the vehicles,” Breedlove said.
