The Minister of National Defence, Gabriel Les, received the Ambassador of Turkey to Bucharest. H.E. Osman Koray Ertas, on Wednesday, March 22.

They discussed the security situation in the Black Sea region and the perspectives of intensifying defence cooperation at bilateral level and in allied context.

Related to the consolidation of NATO deterrence and defence posture, they stressed the importance of implementing the decisions adopted at the defence ministerial in Brussels of February this year, with a view to the tailored Forward Presence (tFP ) on the southern part of the eastern flank of the Alliance. Also, the two officials agreed to continue the military and political and military relations of the two countries, with a view to achieving tFP in the Black Sea region.

The Turkish ambassador spoke of the highly complicated regional context and the multiple challenges Turkey faces and he offered reassurances that the authorities in Ankara are seriously and for the duration committed to NATO and to enhancing the allied presence at the Black Sea.

Also, the two officials discussed of concrete ways of cooperating in the field of defence, through bilateral and multinational exercises, mutual support and concrete contributions to render operational the allied command and control structures in their respective countries and technical and military cooperation in the framework offered by the Strategic Partnership between Romania and Turkey.

Press Department