Romania: US missile defence site to become operational
US officials say the Romanian missile shield, which cost $800 million, is intended to fend off missile threats from Iran.
Deveselu: A US missile defence site in Romania aimed at protecting Europe from ballistic missile threats becomes operational Thursday, angering Russia which opposes having the advanced military system in its former area of influence.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is due to speak at a Thursday ceremony attended by US, NATO and Romanian officials to mark the start of operations at a base established by the Soviet Union, 180 kilometers (110 miles) southwest of Bucharest.
President Klaus Iohannis said Romania wanted NATO to have a "permanent naval presence" in the Black Sea that respected international conventions, and called for increased security for NATO members in the south and east, which border Russia and the Middle East.
"It is important that a credible and predictable presence can be assured of the Allied forces on the eastern flank, to balance the northern dimension with the southern and eastern flank," Iohannis said after meeting Stoltenberg early Thursday in the Romanian capital Bucharest.
On Friday, Polish and US officials will take shovels in hand to break ground at a planned site in the Polish village of Redzikowo, near the Baltic Sea.
US officials say the Romanian missile shield, which cost $800 million, is intended to fend off missile threats from Iran and is not aimed at Russia.