Russia warns Romania over ‘largest NATO military base in Europe’

The expansion of the Romanian Air Force's 57th Air Base, called Mihail Kogalniceanu, located near the Black Sea port city of Constanta, is seen by Russia as a move by NATO to strengthen the Western military alliance's eastern flank.

However, it is important to note the project's long-term timeline, and the fact that it was initiated long before the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in February 2022, and that the Middle East region is also within the base's surveillance range.

The Romanian branch of the French television network Euronews recently reported on the ongoing work at the base, with a March 16 post and March 18 update, giving the impression that the $2.7 billion project is new and will be completed quickly.

“Expansion works are underway in full swing, but once completed, the Mihail Kogalniceanu base will become the largest in Europe. It will surpass Ramstein in Germany and will be able to house more than 10,000 soldiers and their families,” Euronews Romania wrote.

As part of a series of warnings from Russian officials on March 18-19, Andrei Klimov, deputy chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federation Council (upper house of parliament) of Russia, said the project represented a “threat to Bucharest.”

According to Mr. Klimov, the larger and closer the “anti-Russian” military base is to the Russian border, the “more likely it is to become one of the first targets for retaliatory strikes.”

Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, visits Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base in Romania, April 2023. Photo: NATO Website

“If Romanians like it, of course it is their business, but NATO has dragged ordinary people into adventures that could end very badly for their families and children. I am not trying to scare anyone, I am just reasoning logically. There will be no benefit for Romania from this and there will be more threats, this is a fact,” the senator said in a discussion reported by Russian media.

The development of the largest NATO base in Europe – in the Romanian port city of Constanta – continues to “erode” security in the Black Sea region, Konstantin Gavrilov, head of the Russian delegation at the Vienna talks on military security and arms control, told RIA Novosti and was quoted by Radio Romania.

In fact, in 2019, the Romanian government approved the expansion project of Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base No. 57, which has been used by US forces since 1999. The project will be funded from the national budget in several phases, with the first phase awarded to contractors in 2022, construction started last year and will be completed in 2030.

Although the Black Sea air base is expected to house 10,000 troops, it will be one-fifth the size of the US Ramstein base in Germany, but will be one of the largest in Eastern Europe.

Romania has long been an important hub for NATO operations in the Black Sea, and that role has only grown since Russia began its military campaign in Ukraine.

Thousands of US troops have been rotated throughout the southeastern European country for training and security missions. US fighter and reconnaissance aircraft also regularly fly out of the area as part of NATO's security policing operations .

Minh Duc (According to Intelli News, Newsweek)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/nga-canh-bao-romania-ve-can-cu-quan-su-nato-lon-nhat-o-chau-au-a654959.html