Nicușor Dan warns Moscow with the expulsion of the Russian ambassador, in a BBC interview. The details that prove the drone is Russian
The President of Romania, Nicușor Dan, said in an interview with the BBC that the closure of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Constanța is a warning to Moscow after the incident in which a Russian drone hit a block of flats in Galați. The head of state stated that Romania has other diplomatic measures at its disposal if such incidents are repeated.
Nicusor Dan was at the block affected by the drone on Friday. PHOTO: Presidential Administration
Nicușor Dan stated that the decision to close the consulate is intended to send a clear message to the Russian authorities.
“The measure to close the consulate in Constanța “represents a warning to the Russian side and I hope they will stop”, said the president, in the interview given to the BBC.
Asked what other measures Romania could adopt, the head of state indicated the possibility of expelling the ambassador of the Russian Federation.
“The expulsion of the ambassador, for example. Yes, there is this hierarchy of measures that can be taken at the diplomatic level,” explained Nicușor Dan.
Romania: “We can say with certainty that it is a Russian drone”
The President reiterated that there is clear technical evidence regarding the origin of the drone that crashed on the block of flats in Galati, an incident that he qualified as “the most serious security incident on Romanian territory since the beginning of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine”.
According to him, the specialists compared the fragments of the drone that exploded in Galati with those of a similar device discovered about a month ago on Romanian territory.
“We had another drone four or five weeks ago that didn't explode. We compared the two drones – the remains of the one that exploded yesterday and the one that arrived a month ago – and they are completely identical. So we can say with certainty that it is a Russian drone,” stated the president.
Nicușor Dan explained that drones of this type are used to attack Ukrainian ports on the Danube, essential for Ukraine's grain exports.
Dozens of drones monitored by the Romanian army
The head of state specified that, on the day of the incident, the Romanian army tracked no less than 43 drones moving near the border.
According to him, one of the drones, after being hit by the Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense, changed its trajectory and entered the Romanian airspace.
Serious incident. Russia opened fire on a civilian plane after mistaking it for a Ukrainian drone
“One of them, hit by the Ukrainian army, changed its direction and entered the territory of Romania”, Nicusor Dan said.
The president added that similar incidents have occurred in recent years.
“Maybe 20-30 that got here.” “They weren't loaded with explosives at first. But as I mentioned, a month ago we had another drone with explosives that luckily didn't explode,” he declared.
Romania is asking for additional support from allies
In the context of the deterioration of the security situation on the eastern border, Nicușor Dan announced that Romania requested additional support from strategic partners and NATO allies.
The president declared himself convinced that the United States will continue to support the strengthening of security at the Romanian-Ukrainian border.
“They have already provided us with equipment exactly for those 60 kilometers of the border. So we have American equipment, but only for a portion of the border, not for the whole area,” explained the head of state.
At the same time, Romania asked European and NATO allies for additional air defense systems and anti-drone equipment for the entire border area. The request was submitted including during a discussion with Mark Rutte, immediately after the incident in Galați.
Cooperation with Ukraine for the development of drones
Nicușor Dan also talked with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, the two leaders agreeing to accelerate cooperation in the field of drone production.
According to the Romanian president, the joint projects will capitalize on the experience gained by Ukraine on the battlefield and will contribute to strengthening the defense capabilities of the region.
“The situation is dangerous. It has become dangerous for Romanian citizens. And when the Russians target localities on the other side of the Danube, they must ensure that they do not cause any casualties among Romanian citizens.” warned Nicușor Dan, stressing that Russia must ensure that its attacks on targets in Ukraine do not endanger the lives of Romanians on national territory.
