NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed on Thursday that Romanian authorities have found “wreck” of a “possible” Russian drone in Romania, near the border with Ukraine.
“We have no information to suggest a deliberate attack by Russia,” said NATO’s secretary general, who is “awaiting the results of the ongoing investigation”.
On Wednesday, “at the regular meeting” of the North Atlantic Council, the Romanian authorities “confirmed the fact and informed the allies”, Jens Stoltenberg reported during a hearing in the European Parliament before the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
“A wreck of a possible drone was found near the border with Ukraine. The Romanian authorities have informed NATO allies (…) of all discoveries and of the ongoing investigation, which shows the risk of incidents and accidents,” Stoltenberg said.
NATO’s Secretary General declined to draw conclusions during the investigation, but understands that the increase in incidents of this kind within Alliance borders justifies action on the part of the Allies.
“What we have clearly seen is a lot of fighting and also air strikes near the borders of NATO and we have also had other incidents in Poland and other places,” Stoltenberg recalled, noting that “that is why we have increased our deployment.” vigilance, we keep a close eye on what is happening near our borders and we have also increased our presence in the eastern part of the alliance.”
After Romanian authorities initially denied the fall of any Russian artifact within the borders of their territory, the country’s president, Klaus Iohannis, launched criticism on Wednesday of Moscow’s actions, which have been bombing Ukrainian ports on the banks of the Danube since Russia withdrew. from the Black Sea Grain Agreement.
The Romanian president believed it would be “a serious violation of Romania’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” after Romania’s Defense Minister Angel Tîlvăr confirmed the discovery of parts of the drone in the NATO member country.
“We covered a very large area, including the area discussed in public space, and I confirm that pieces have been found that could have come from a drone,” said Angel Tîlvăr, quoted by Romanian media.
If the wreckage is confirmed to belong to Russian drones, it would be “completely unacceptable,” added Iohannis, who requested an “urgent and professional investigation” into the wreckage’s origin and why it was found on Romanian territory .
In November, NATO met urgently to discuss the fall of a missile in Poland. However, US President Joe Biden deemed it unlikely that it came from a Russian shot.
The incident put Romania “on edge”, but President Klaus Iohannis believes that “within NATO” the country is “very well defended”, as Romania “benefits from extremely solid security guarantees” granted by “Article 5 of the Treaty of the Atlantic Alliance”. , which believes that an attack on the territory of a Member State is considered an attack on everyone.
Source: DN
