Traian Băsescu, about the resizing of US troops in Romania: “When it was difficult for them, we went after them in Afghanistan and Iraq”
The decision regarding the redistribution of American troops in Romania should not be interpreted as a signal of the United States' lack of interest in our country, former president Traian Băsescu said. He explained that the American military presence in the region has been thought of since 2014, in the form of a prepositioning of military equipment on the eastern flank, and not necessarily through a permanent deployment of troops.
The American military presence in the region has been considered since 2014, says Băsescu. PHOTO: Mediafax
“I don't think it's a signal aimed at the lack of interest in Romania, and I'll tell you why. The last NATO Summit that I attended was the NATO summit in Wales, in 2014. Then it was decided that NATO should preposition a combat technique on the Eastern Flank. So, you don't necessarily have soldiers all the time, but have the combat technique here and when needed you bring them with military planes and they have the combat technique. I think that this program has been running since 2014 until now”, explained Băsescu, on Sunday, November 9, at TVR Info.
The former head of state recalled that Romania has only one permanent base, that of Deveselu, while other locations are training or logistics bases, where foreign troops arrive by rotation, not permanently.
“In addition, we have, by legal acts, only one permanent base, the one in Deveselu. The others are training bases, Cap Midia, Babadag, Smârdan in Galati County, Cincu in the mountains of Făgăraş, they are training bases where soldiers and Americans, and French and Belgians come, we train and leave. Or logistic bases and these are Mihail Kogălniceanu and the Port of Constanta. That is how they are defined in the documents we have”. Basescu said,
“The Americans must bear in mind that when it was difficult for them, as we could, we went after them in Afghanistan and in Iraq. And in Iraq it was almost dramatic that we went, because at least we knew that it was not true that there were chemical weapons stored by Saddam Hussein, nor nuclear weapons, but, please, we were good partners.” said Traian Basescu.
Asked if the Pentagon's troop reduction decision could be reconsidered, the former president said it all depends on the rotation of forces, adding that “America is very unpredictable right now.”
“Look, a few days ago he wanted to support Ukraine, today he announced that he no longer sells anything for Ukraine. So we have to rely on what Europe can do.” Băsescu emphasized.
He also criticized the perception of some American analysts that Europe is “scared” of Russia for no reason: “Europe is terrorized not because it cannot defeat the Russian army, but it is terrorized because it allowed the nuclear arsenal to be developed by the United States, and now the United States has become insecure in its relationship with Europe, while the one who could invade us, the Russians, will never accept to lose. Instead of losing, they will introduce the nuclear weapon into the war game. That is what we are worried about. Not that we would not face a classic war with the Federation Russian.”
The former president reiterated that Vladimir Putin's real goal remains the creation of the so-called Novorossiya, which includes southern Ukraine – “Donbass, Luhansk, Zaporozhye, Odessa and the Chilia Arm”. “I don't think Putin will stop until he achieves this goal,” concluded Traian Băsescu.
