Biden wants Romania to send Ukraine a Patriot system. Iohannis considers the proposal, but asks for something in return

President Klaus Iohannis was received, last night, at the White House by his American counterpart, Joe Biden. The US president praised Romania for the military aid offered to Ukraine. The discussions between the two leaders focused on the strategic partnership between the two countries. Unofficially, the fight between Klaus Iohannis and Mark Rutte for the position of Secretary General of NATO was also discussed, in the context in which America has already announced that it supports Rutte.

By the Observator editorial team on 08.05.2024, 10:50

The main topic of the meeting was the war in Ukraine, where Biden had only words of praise for Romania. The US president also confessed that he did not expect the prompt response that our country gave, faced with the war started by Russia, in our neighboring country. So, he thanked President Klaus Iohannis, for his leadership, military aid, but also because Romania offered stability in the Black Sea region.

Joe Biden: You were incredible. You have also increased the aid you have given to Ukraine, which is really significant. You have firmly supported the people of Ukraine, you have allowed a number of refugees to come to your country. About 8,000, a lot. And that’s something!

Iohannis also spoke about the Visa Waiver, which will allow us to enter the United States without a visa, and told his American counterpart that our accession to NATO was a cornerstone on Romania’s road to democracy.

Klaus Iohannis, President of Romania: We are working together to lift visas for Romania. If everything goes well, we hope that in the near future we will have results in this direction.

Biden and Iohanns, discussions about candidacy for NATO

Another topic addressed during the discussion between the two heads of state is the candidacy of Klaus Iohannis for the position of Secretary General of NATO, given that the United States and most of the Alliance countries fully support the Dutch Mark Rutte. At this moment, only three states block the consensus at the top of the Alliance – Romania, Viktor Orban’s Hungary and Robert Fico’s Slovakia. The President of Romania recognized the fact that there is a risk that there is no consensus, but it is good for a strong organization to have strong competitions, and this will not endanger the alliance.

Klaus Iohannis, President of Romania: There were some who said that if there are two candidates, the alliance breaks. Not by a long shot. The alliance is strong, it goes on.

Joe Biden expressed his desire for our country to send a Patriot system to Kiev. But we only have one functional one. Klaus Iohannis says that he will operationalize others of those that Romania still has in preparation and that he will ask for something in exchange. There is no way he will leave Romania without anti-aircraft defense, while he has a war on the border.

Klaus Iohannis, President of Romania: There is obviously a need for anti-aircraft defense systems in Ukraine, advanced systems. In recent weeks there is a rather intense discussion about who can provide Patriot systems to Ukraine. Romania has such systems and then, of course, we were also asked. And President Biden brought up this issue and I told him that I am open to discussing these issues, which means that I will have to discuss it at home, in the CSAT, to see how we can raise the issue, what we can offer and obviously what we can receive in return, because it is, in my opinion, unacceptable for Romania to remain without anti-aircraft defense. I think we will find a solution. It is a single Patriot system. Believe me, I know more details, but yes, there is a functional one that will remain in Romania, the others that are in advanced phases of operationalization and we were talking about one of these.

On May 9, at 2:00, our local time, Klaus Iohannis will be honored for his entire career and for his role as a European and transatlantic leader, by the Atlantic Council, a group of experts based in Washington. This is also the main reason why the president came to the United States. And later, the head of state will also meet with Mike Johnson, the leader of the Republican majority in the House of Representatives.