Dorin Ionita (head of Joint Forces Command): Army, guarantor of military diplomacy and more

Gao, Feb 26 - AGERPRES special correspondent Cristian Lupascu reports: The presence of the Romanian airlift helicopter detachment "Carpathian Pumas" in Mali shows that the Romanian Army "remains a guarantor of military diplomacy and more", said Commander of the Joint Forces Command, Major General Dorin Ionita, who coordinates the Romanian troops in the theaters of operations. He stated, during a visit to the military base "Camp Castor" in Gao, that the peacekeeping mission in Mali "is a vector for what the military and external diplomacy of the Romanian Army means," completing the picture of the missions for which Romania has assumed responsibility. "Romania's status stands to gain from this mission, as well. The army remains a guarantor of military diplomacy and not only, through everything that position and status entail," said Ionita. At the same time, the head of the Joint Forces Command believes that the mission in Mali is "very valuable in terms of troops' training and a plus for the Joint Forces Command to test its procedures and standards regarding the operational command of these types of missions." Referring to the possibility for the Mali mission to be extended at the end of the one-year period agreed upon with the United Nations, Dorin Ionita explained: "It is a political responsibility. It has already been decided that the mission of the Helicopter Detachment will not be extended, so this has already been announced at political level at UN meetings and on other occasions. It is not Romania's responsibility in particular. We have taken up the mission for one year. All arrangements are made exactly for one year." The Romanian airlift helicopter detachment "Carpathian Puma" has been participating since October 2019 in the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Republic of Mali, performing medical evacuation missions, air patrol, search-rescue, search and reconnaissance, troop transport, VIP transport and transport of materials to provide logistical support. As many as 120 Romanian soldiers are deployed in Camp Castor in Gao. The UN mission in Mali is one of assistance to the government of this country, amidst the instability generated by intertribal disputes and the presence of Islamist groups, some affiliated with the Al Qaeda group. AGERPRES (RO - editor: Georgiana Tanasescu; EN - author: Simona Iacob, editor: Simona Klodnischi)