Russia may demand that NATO's military presence and infrastructure in Eastern Europe be returned to the level of 1997. This would also affect Romania, where allied forces and structures are stationed. The statement was published by the British newspaper “Telegraph“ and was quoted by Romanian media.
The topic appears against the backdrop of the prepared trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States in Abu Dhabi. According to the Anadolu Agency, the talks are planned for the first half of November and will be dedicated to the security conditions after a possible agreement to end the war. Russia made similar demands in 2021, before a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
What the demand would mean
Reserve Lieutenant General Virgil Balceanu, Romania's former representative to NATO's command in Brussels and former commander of the Multinational Brigade “Southeast Europe“, believes that Moscow is using maximalist conditions to raise the stakes in the negotiations.
“Russia would like to have no presence of NATO battle groups and commands in all countries that joined the Alliance after 1997. These are 10 countries, including Romania“, Balceanu said. According to him, such a scenario would also affect Poland, the Baltic states, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Albania, Montenegro and Finland.
According to the general, the demand could be used as a bargaining chip. Moscow could initially insist on the withdrawal of allied forces to the 1997 positions, and then abandon this claim in exchange for concessions related to Ukraine.
As an example, Balcanu points to a possible limitation of the Ukrainian army to 80,000 people and blocking a future Western security system for Ukraine. “Putin can ask for more to get what he wants,“ the general says. He links this strategy to the possibility of expanding Russian influence to the Dniester region and the Danube Delta.
The risk for Romania
Balceanu does not believe that NATO would accept the Russian request if it were made officially. However, he said, the absence of allied forces from Romanian territory would weaken the practical dimension of deterrence in the Black Sea region.
„If someone attacks Romania, even if it is only a military base, they are also attacking the forces of the United States and France. This presence has a deterrent effect“, the general said.He stressed that Romania does not rely solely on American and French military personnel, but must develop its own defense capabilities. Balceanu calls on Bucharest to implement Article 3 of the Washington Treaty by strengthening the army, the defense industry, the reserves and the training of the population.
According to him, the enterprises in Kujir and Sadu should start producing weapons and ammunition, and next year the first units of reservists should be created, who will undergo training for up to 15 days a year. “Security is built at home through concrete actions“, Balceanu summarizes.
Sources: adevarul.ro, anadoluajansi.gov.tr, apnews.com