The Russian Foreign Ministry official, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, states that Moscow considers Romania as a threat to the safety of the Russian Federation, after the Romanian part of the U.S. missile shield was switched on in May 2016.
“Romania’s stance and the stance of its leadership, who have turned the country into an outpost, is a clear threat to us. The Romanian side has been told this, even publicly,” said Botsan-Kharchenko.
The other part of the U.S shield wll be located in Poland.
See also: Additional 300 U.S. soldiers went to Poland as a part of NATO team
The Russian diplomat has underlined that the deployment of the U.S.military presence in the EU countries severely complicates Russian-Romanian interaction and cooperation.
“A definite anti-Russian, even Russophobic sentiment from Bucharest was noticed in the inspired implementation of sanctions and in their excitedly anti-Russian rhetoric,” said the official.
See also: U.S. sends tanks to bases in Poland and the Baltic states at deterring a possible Russian aggression
Morover, at Bucharest’s request, NATO is looking to boost its presence in Romania and use it as a base for closer surveillance of the strategic Black Sea region. U.S. and NATO say that the troops are needed to provide extra security and reassurance to EU after the illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea by the Russian Federation.
See also: Russian troops at the Ukrainian border increased to 44 000 in recent weeks
