President Klaus Iohannis visits the 57th Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base

   President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday at the 57th Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base that efforts will be continued to ensure a "prompt", "determined" and "robust" response from the North Atlantic Alliance to any possible challenge or threat."We will continue our efforts to ensure the prompt, determined and robust response of the North Atlantic Alliance to any possible challenge or threat. As we decided at the recent Brussels Summit, we will accelerate the Alliance's transformation to strengthen the position of deterrence and defence of NATO in the long run, especially on the eastern flank and on the Black Sea. We are working for making operational the four new Battle Groups as soon as possible, one of which will be in Romania. It will contribute, together with the other allied structures, to the strengthening of security on the entire Eastern Flank, in a coherent and unitary way, being a first step towards balancing the allied presence on the Flank," said the head of state, who is visiting the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base together with Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.He thanked all NATO allies for their presence in Romania."Through joint efforts, we contribute to the security of the Allied space, ensuring the peace and tranquility of our citizens. The fact that we are together in this military base is further proof of the unity, cohesion and solidarity that exists at NATO level," he said.President Iohannis brought to mind that since 2014, as a result of the illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by the Russian Federation, NATO has begun a complex process of adaptation."We are aware that we are facing a security environment marked by new risks and threats and by the increasingly aggressive conduct of the Russian Federation at the regional level.The head of state stressed that the brutal aggression launched by the Russian Federation against Ukraine has fundamentally affected regional, European, Euro-Atlantic security and has negative projections globally - on several levels."Therefore, in order to support Ukraine, which has been severely tried by this aggression, NATO and the European Union have taken concrete and consistent measures. Romania, in turn, has acted quickly and efficiently, both at the governmental level and at the level of civil society. (...) We have sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine and received on our territory all the refugees who have come to us, offering them support, accommodation and medical care. Furthermore, we put in place on the territory of our country a logistic hub that ensures the collection and transport of international humanitarian donations to Ukraine," Iohannis said.President Iohannis said that the international security environment had undergone radical changes and, as a result, NATO states had to take appropriate response measures, strictly defensive, meant not to lead to escalation."Thus, NATO has stepped up measures to prepare the Allied military forces and to consolidate the Allied position on the Eastern Flank. Dear military - Romanians and those from other NATO member states, you are standing shoulder to shoulder here and today you are the concrete expression of our determination to further strengthen the Allied deterrence and defence in the Black Sea region," he said.The head of state thanked the Prime Minister of Belgium for the contribution of the Belgian military on Romanian territory."Dear allied military, your presence in Romania has, beyond the security component, a symbolic dimension. Together with your colleagues, the Romanian military, you protect and defend the Euro-Atlantic values that essentially define our societies: democracy, human rights, the rule of law and the right of every people to decide their own destiny. Only together can we ensure the security and well-being of our citizens," added President Iohannis.