U.S. official: We couldn't have dreamed for a better partner than Romania

Frank Rose, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Space and Defense Policy with the U.S. Department of State, said on Tuesday at the 2014 Multinational Ballistic Missile Defense Conference organized in Bucharest that the United States could not have dreamed for a better partner than Romania.

He brought to mind that there is a bilateral agreement in force signed in 2011 on having the Romanian Deveselu air base host the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense System, and that the facility will be rendered operational in 2015.

I saw to the negotiation of this agreement and I had a wonderful partner in Mr. Aurescu. We highly appreciate Romania's efforts towards getting the Deveselu base up and running. We also appreciate the Government's support for the implementation of these agreements and treaties, as part of international missile defense efforts. We couldn't have wanted a better partner than Romania, the U.S. official stressed.

Also attending the event was Rose Gottemoeller, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, who spoke of the danger represented by nuclear weapons and of the U.S. efforts in the direction of nuclear disarmament. In her view, although the subject of nuclear armament and disarmament has shifted from the center of the people's attention, is remains, however, "a big issue."

Also present at the conference, Romanian Secretary of State for Strategic Affairs Bogdan Aurescu stressed that missile defense is a top-important strategic issue and that the Romania — U.S. Agreement of September 2011 is a concrete expression of the two states' Strategic Partnership. AGERPRES