Romania to join US missile defence system
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Romania will participate in the development of the United States' missile defence system and host components on its territory.
President Traian Basescu announced the Romanian Supreme Council for National Defence had taken the decision on Thursday.
"U.S. President Barack Obama has invited Romania to join in the development of the US missile defence system," said Basescu, adding that the message was brought to Bucharest by Ellen Taucher, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs, currently in Romania heading a U.S. expert team.
Basescu said the ground-based interceptors of the system would be deployed in Romania, adding that the deployment of some components in Romania was fully in line with the decisions of the 2008 Bucharest NATO Summit and the Kehl Summit, which reiterated the principles of indivisible security and solidarity among the NATO allies.
"The new location guarantees full coverage of Romania against any ballistic missile strike or any strike by short-range missiles," Basescu said.
The president said the new system was not intended to be used against Russia, but other threats.
According to Basescu, the decision is highly important to the consolidation of the partnership with the U.S. and contributes to increasing Romania's security.
He said bilateral negotiations would follow, in which Romania and the U.S. needed to seal agreements that would then require parliamentary ratification.
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