Romania can no longer be seen as a state on the outskirts of NATO, but as an essential actor for the balance of the eastern flank, the security of the Black Sea, the support provided to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova and for the credibility of the Euro-Atlantic deterrence in the region, Nicoleta Pauliuc, chair of Romania's Senate Defence Committee, said on Tuesday.

Pauliuc added that Romania needs not only correct decisions, but also 'a mature strategic conversation' about its role in the region and in the European security architecture, recalling that the Supreme council for National Defence set Romania's objectives for the NATO summit in Ankara.

She described the meeting as a 'test of strategic coherence' for the entire Alliance.

'Romania must go to Ankara with a clear message: the security of the eastern flank cannot be complete without a robust, coherent and permanent approach to the Black Sea. We need a strong defence and deterrence posture, an adequate allied presence in air defence, air surveillance and mobility, maritime security and the protection of critical infrastructure. Here Romania no longer comes only with requests, but with deeds,' Pauliuc said at the round table 'The road to Ankara. Eastern Flank Priorities', organized by the AGORA Centre for Democracy, with support from Policy Path and the Committee on Defence, Public Order and National Security.

Pauliuc criticised the perception that Romania is defined only by its vulnerabilities, that it is close to war, has drone incidents, hybrid risks, pressures on critical infrastructure, noting that all these things are true, but 'a country is not defined by its exposure, but by the ability to transform that exposure into strategic relevance.'

'Romania can no longer be seen as a state on the outskirts of NATO, but as an essential state for the balance of the eastern flank, for the security of the Black Sea, for the support provided to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova and for the credibility of the Euro-Atlantic deterrence in this part of Europe. Romania's security does not end at the Prut and does not begin in Constanta; it is built in all the space where instability can become a threat. Therefore, support for Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova does not mean only solidarity, but even strategic lucidity. The better Ukraine resists, the safer the eastern flank. The more stable the Republic of Moldova, the more protected Romania is, the safer the Black Sea, the safer Europe is. That is the equation we are taking to Ankara,' said Pauliuc.

She added that 'in defence, good intentions do not defend borders, only capabilities defend them.'

'Deterrence is not a word in the wind, but capacity, presence, industry, infrastructure and last but not least political will. We cannot ask for a stronger allied posture without building, at the same time, a stronger Romania. That means serious investment in defence, budgetary predictability, timely execution, infrastructure that allows real military mobility, interoperability and institutions that can work together at the pace that the security reality requires. Peace is not defended with improvisation. One of the great lessons of the war in Ukraine is related to the defence industry. In a security crisis, it's not just what you bought that matters, but what you can produce, repair, adapt and deliver on time. Romania must not remain just a procurement market, but must become a space for production, maintenance, research, innovation, allied industrial cooperation,' Pauliuc said.

Senior official with Romania's Foreign Ministry Ana Tinca said that the summit in Ankara has a very important stake.

'This summit is one with stakes and I think that when we characterise it as such, we must start from the current security situation, which is, unfortunately, truly exceptional. The allied leaders will meet in Ankara in an extremely complicated security environment, with the war in Ukraine on Romania's border, which has been going on for more than four years, with the emergence of new conflict zones, which affect partner countries, but also affect us in various ways and with a recalibration of American security and defence policy, a major ally in NATO, which we need to talk about to ensure that we manage this natural process of recalibration through the contributions of all allies in a way that ensures a very solid deterrence and defence posture, without the emergence of new vulnerabilities,' Tinca said.

She added that 'the meeting in Ankara is a very important opportunity for NATO to project an image of solidarity and power.'

'We need to make sure that the message is clear about NATO's determination to counter all these threats very effectively. The political message has no value unless it is supported by some very concrete commitments, which we already made at the Hague summit, at the previous summit, where we spoke very seriously about the fact that we need to increase the financial resources allocated to defence, and we need to make sure that the Alliance has the military capabilities it needs to counter all these threats and, first of all, the Russian threat,' said Tinca.

The Turkish ambassador in Bucharest, Ozgur Kivanc Altan, said that the summit in Ankara is expected to send a strong, unambiguous message regarding transatlantic solidarity.

Ankara is hosting this summit at a time when unity and solidarity are needed more than ever in recent history; the war in the neighbourhood continues immorally, involving developments on the battlefield and with the effort to reach an agreement, the ambassador said.

He added that the arc of instability surrounding the alliance has never been so wide.

In this environment, the Ankara summit must deliver results as a host ally, according to the ambassador.

We expect to send a strong, unambiguous message on transatlantic solidarity, which will reflect the determination of European allies to strengthen their role in the alliance, to strengthen the relationship between our spending commitments and to reaffirm our commitment to a 360-degree approach to security, and to underline our strong support, continuously towards Ukraine, the ambassador said.

According to him, the commitments made to increasing defence spending to 5% will feature on the agenda of the summit. AGERPRES (RO - editing by: Alina Novaceanu; EN - writing by: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu)