Russia warns against Romania welcoming US troops
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zaharova criticized the US' plans to deploy part of the military units withdrawn from Germany to Romania.
"Of course, Russia will respond appropriately to this provocation of encroachment," she said in her press briefing on August 13.
Russia's reaction comes after the head of the US Army Land Forces, General James C. McConville, and the head of the US Army Land Forces deployed in Europe, Lieutenant General Christopher G. Cavoli, carried out earlier this month (August 7-9) a visit to Romania during which they approached local officials about the issue of "rotation of several forces in the Black Sea region, particularly in Romania," according to a press release of the Romanian Defense Ministry.
While countries outside the region are not allowed to maintain permanent naval forces in the Black Sea, they can rotate such capacities.
Following the announcement of the Pentagon's decision to increase its military presence in Poland and the Baltic states, high-ranking US commanders spoke about their country's plans to redeploy to Romania some of the troops withdrawn from Germany.
"Washington does not conceal that these steps are part of the effort to bolster the so-called "north-south axis" from the Baltic to Black Sea, the axis that is to become the line marking Russia's containment, with Romania viewed as a key stronghold for projecting power in the Black Sea region," according to the summary of the briefing posted on the Russian MFA website.
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