Romania Welcomes Boost to NATO's Eastern Flank

Romanian officials have welcomed NATO's decision to establish a new rapid reaction force on its border with Russia, as a result of which the alliance will boost troop numbers in Poland and Romania and establish six new command centres in Central and Southeast Europe.

The decision is "crucial for reassuring NATO and EU's eastern flank. These multinational NATO control and command units ? are related to a visible and lasting NATO presence in allied countries," Defence Minister Mircea Dusa said on Friday.

Dusa's statement came after NATO said it planned to open six new "command and control centres" in Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania.

The centres, which will include US troops, will underpin a new "spearhead" force of 5,000 soldiers, designed to deter any potential Russian aggression against NATO members in Eastern Europe.

A new "South-eastern headquarters" is to be set up in Romania as well as a "training centre" in Georgia.

The two NATO units in Romania will be ready in 2016. Romanian soldiers as well as troops from other member states will be stationed there.

Experts say NATO's decision is designed to send a clear signal to the Kremlin. "The dimension of military forces to be involved is still low, but NATO's decisions are a clear political sign that the Alliance is determined to reassure NATO and EU's eastern flank," Ioan Mircea Pascu, a military analyst and former Minister of Defence, said.

NATO member Romania is one of Washington's strongest supporters among the ex-Communist countries of Eastern Europe.

Unlike some other countries in the region, Romania has given full backing to Western sanctions imposed on Russia in connection to the Ukraine crisis.

Romanians have viewed the...