Romania has ‘very concrete expectations’ from the NATO summit, says president Iohannis who is representing Romania at the event in Madrid, which brings together heads of state and government from allied countries. Iohannis has pointed out the significant consolidation of the eastern flank, increasing the number of troops deployed to the region, declaring the Black Sea an area of strategic interest, considering Russia a significant threat for the alliance and the battle groups be raised to the rank of brigades. „NATO is the guarantee of our security and at this complicate time when Russia has attacked Ukraine and we are its neighbours, we realize how important the NATO umbrella is for our security, the security of any Romanian,” Iohannis said. In Brussels, the Romanian president is expected to reiterate Romania’s full support for NATO’s open-door policies including for the accession of Finland and Sweden. Turkey, which until Tuesday opposed the accession of the two countries, eventually agreed to support their initiative. According to Radio Romania correspondent in Madrid, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenski is to deliver an online speech in the summit’s first session.
