BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Eastern European NATO states would like a bigger presence of allied military forces on the bloc’s eastern flank, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said on Monday after a virtual summit of those states that was also joined by U.S. President Joe Biden.
“NATO must continue to strengthen its defence and deterrence posture especially on the Eastern flank, from … the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea,” Iohannis said after the summit.
“This is why I have argued, including in discussions with President Biden, for an increase of allied military presence in Romania and … the south of the Eastern flank.”
The summit of the Bucharest Nine, a group of European countries on the eastern edge of NATO was jointly hosted by Iohannis and Poland’s President Andrzej Duda.
(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
