President Klaus Iohannis will participate, July 12-13, in the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.

According to the Presidential Administration, the Vilnius Summit, which takes place at a critical moment for Euro-Atlantic security in the second year of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, will assess the implementation of the decisions adopted at the Madrid Summit of 2022, when the Strategic Concept in force was also adopted, with emphasis on strengthening NATO's deterrence and defence posture. Political and practical support for Ukraine, as well as making concrete progress towards its accession to NATO, will be another important objective.

"The particular significance of this summit meeting is generated by the fact that it will reflect the way in which the Euro-Atlantic community continues to articulate its response to the current security environment seriously affected by Russia's war against Ukraine. That also regards ensuring enhanced NATO presence on the eastern flank, with allocations of forces, equipment and capabilities. At the same time, co-operation with NATO partners will be strengthened, including in terms of political dialogue," the Presidential Administration says.

The summit includes three meetings at the highest level of the North Atlantic Council, with Ukraine, the European Union and NATO's Indo-Pacific partners.

On July 12, Iohannis will participate in a meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of heads of state or government with the participation of Sweden as a state invited to join NATO. Discussions will focus on NATO's current agenda, including the assessment of the security and defence environment marked by Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, as well as the security threats arising from Russia's illegal actions. Another subject will be further strengthening NATO's deterrence and defence posture, and also the adaptation and modernisation of NATO in the current security context. NATO leaders will also discuss their commitment to increasing defence investment.

On July 13, Iohannis will take part in the North Atlantic Council Meeting at the level of heads of state or government, which will be attended by both Sweden, as an invited state, and partners from the Indo-Pacific region - Australia, Korea, Japan , New Zealand - as well as the president of the European Council and the president of the European Commission. The meeting will address NATO's relations with these partners, as well as security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Presidential Administration reports that on July 13, Iohannis will also take part in the first meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council at the level of heads of state or government, a new format designed to strengthen the political relationship between NATO and Ukraine while providing the necessary support for the advancement of Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

In his speech to the meeting, Iohannis will emphasise the fundamental importance of continuing to implement the decisions of the Madrid Summit regarding the strengthening of the allied deterrence and defense posture on the eastern flank so that it is carried out in a unitary and coherent manner on the entire flank.

"President Klaus Iohannis will point out the importance of the decisions of the NATO meeting regarding the adoption of a package to strengthen the NATO posture on the eastern flank in the long term in order to offer Romania a higher degree of security and defence. The head of state will also reiterate the robust support for Ukraine, including for its accession to NATO, as well as for the most vulnerable partners, especially Moldova. During the summit, the President of Romania will support the reflection, in the NATO documents and decisions that will be adopted, of the importance of the Black Sea region to Euro-Atlantic security," according to the Presidential Administration.

As concerns the Allied posture on the Eastern flank and the Black Sea, the message of the Vilnius summit is that NATO is modernising for a new phase of collective defence.

For Romania this means deterrence and multi-domain defence (operational areas are integrated, and air and missile defence, cyber defence, space, land and maritime forces are fully interoperable), a new generation of defence plans, a long-term commitment to increasing defence investment, the continuation of sustained national efforts to strengthen defence and reinforce Romania's contributions to the Alliance's deterrence and defence measures and activities, to allied missions and to the effort to modernise command and control structures, the creation in Romania of a training centre for F-16 pilots, alongside the Netherlands, an increasing contribution of our country to the cyber dimension, the sources said.

The sources further informed that Romania will take steps towards joining the Black Sea Air Policing mission, run by a NATO Agency. AGERPRES (RO - author: Florentina Peia, editor: Florin Marin; EN - authors: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, Simona Iacob)