The number of US troops will remain unchanged at the Deveselu and Campia Turzii bases, with the only modification taking place at the Mihail Kogalniceanu base, where a rotational brigade will no longer be deployed, Defence Minister Ionut Mosteanu announced on Wednesday.

The United States will withdraw part of the forces deployed on NATO's Eastern Flank, with around 1,000 troops remaining across Romania's three bases.

'The American forces at Deveselu and Campia Turzii remain unchanged. The only modification is at Mihail Kogalniceanu, where the rotational brigade, which came and went, will no longer be stationed here. At the moment, it is not present, it left for exercises about a month ago. There were roughly 1,200-1,500 soldiers in that brigade. Those who are part of the air combat group and various other units will remain at Kogalniceanu,' said Mosteanu.

Asked by journalists whether the withdrawal of American troops represents a setback in terms of security, Mosteanu replied, 'I would have preferred it not to be so.'

'Each country - your shirt is closer to your body than your coat - sets its own strategy. The American allies announced at the beginning of the year that they would focus more closely on the Indo-Pacific, considering that Europe, in recent years, has understood the warning sign that came with the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and has begun to invest more in its own armies and equipment. Simply put, Europe has decided to take its defence into its own hands. It is a predictable development that we all expected, and from now on we must continue to invest in the Romanian Armed Forces,' the minister said.

In response to another question, Mosteanu said he learned of the American decision on Monday.

He also announced that Romania will not change its defence strategy.

'First of all, alliances are good, we have a strong alliance. This alliance is the most powerful military force in the world, and Article 5 protects each of us who are members. To be very clear, a country's defence strategy does not change depending on (...), perhaps if you had an army of 1,000 soldiers, it might mean a change in strategy. We have several tens of thousands of soldiers in the Romanian Army. I would have liked them to stay or for more to come. I still want us to have more allied troops in Romania. But this will not change our strategy. Our defence strategy is developed together with our allies. We are not alone; we are part of this alliance, and that is how we will continue,' the Defence Minister added. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Eusebi Manolache; EN - writing by: Adina Panaitescu)