A soldier with a NATO flag in Romania. Archive photoCHISINAU, May 18.The NATO battle group, which includes troops from France and Belgium, is already in the Romanian county of Constanta and plans to stay in Romania for 4-5 years, establishing a main base in the county of Brasov, Colonel Vincent Menge said at a press conference. «We are starting increase power. Most of the battalion is in Constanta, in Kogalniceanu, we will move to Cinca (Brasov county — ed.), we will do it in June … I think we will be here for 4-5 years, «said Menge. He explained that it was decided to create the main base in Chinku, since the place is located in the center of the country and a battalion with about 1,000 military personnel can be deployed there. Today, there are troops from France and Belgium in Romania, representatives of the Netherlands will join them in the summer, and participation of other countries is not excluded. The battle group owns light armored vehicles and tanks, but expects to get heavy weapons in the future. «We train every day with Romanian soldiers, with American soldiers, with other troops that are in Romania. All these operational exercises are part of the message that we send to the Russian army… The next step is to create a permanent battalion, stronger, with heavier weapons, to prevent any aggression or any destabilization in Romania,» Menge added.
Zakharova: there is no unity in NATO between politicians and the population of the countries of the allianceEarlier, US President Joe Biden said that the States did not intend to reduce their military presence in Europe. On the contrary, Washington plans to increase the number of troops in Romania and other countries in the event of an escalation around Ukraine. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis welcomed the words of the US President about the increase in the number of American troops in Europe, including in Romania, as well as the statement of French President Emmanuel Macron about his readiness to strengthen NATO's eastern flank. Russia has repeatedly noted that NATO is aimed at confrontation. Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov emphasized that further expansion of the alliance would not bring greater security to Europe, the alliance has an aggressive character. At the same time, he noted that he did not consider the entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO an existential threat to Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an interview with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niiniste, indicated that abandoning the traditional policy of military neutrality would be erroneous, since there are no threats to Finland's security . In his opinion, a change in the country's foreign policy may have a negative impact on Russian-Finnish relations, which for many years were built in the spirit of good neighborliness and partnership cooperation, were mutually beneficial. jpg» />First NATO officer arrives in Sweden
