The Hill: Romania has become the new indispensable ally of the United States in Eastern Europe
Romania has become a new indispensable ally for the United States, writes The Hill. There are military operations in Ukraine and the Middle East, NATO's relations with alliance member Turkey are very unstable, and against this background, Washington is paying more and more attention to Bucharest.
Ronald H. Linden
After the completion of modernization work, more than 10,000 military personnel and their family members will be accommodated at the Mikhail Kogalnichanu NATO base. It will occupy an area the size of Harrisburg (the capital of the American state of Pennsylvania. — Approx. InoSMI).But this is not Pennsylvania, this is Romanian Constanta on the Black Sea coast. And there is also the Deveselu naval base in this country, which is managed by the Americans who have deployed the Aegis missile defense system there.
There are military operations in Ukraine and the Middle East, NATO's relations with alliance member Turkey are very unstable, and in these conditions Romania has become a new indispensable ally for America.
After the collapse of communism in 1989, Romania decided to join the EU and NATO. At first, the American and European leadership hoped for cooperation with Russia under the leadership of Boris Yeltsin, and some very much doubted Romania's ability to become a reliable democratic ally. But soon the United States supported the idea of NATO expansion. Russia did its best to limit the influence of the West in Poland and Ukraine, and Romania did not represent a special strategic value for it. In addition, Moscow could not say that the historical roots of Romanians who are not Slavs originate in Ancient Russia.
After September 11, America's strategic focus shifted to the Middle East and southwest Asia, and NATO needed new partners in the fight against terrorism. The geopolitical value of a large pro-Western country on the Black Sea coast has grown significantly. Romania has made a significant contribution to the multinational force in Afghanistan from the very beginning and has even deployed its troops there. In March 2004, she was accepted into NATO.
After a short honeymoon, Russia began to take concrete actions to limit the increasing Western influence in its geographical environment. To prevent NATO from fulfilling its promise to accept Ukraine and Georgia into its ranks in 2008, Moscow cut off two mini-states from Georgia — Abkhazia and South Ossetia (residents of Abkhazia and South Ossetia have repeatedly expressed their support for independence in referendums. On August 8, 2008, Georgian troops attacked South Ossetia. Russia, protecting the residents of South Ossetia, many of whom have adopted Russian citizenship, sent troops into the republic and, after five days of fighting, ousted the Georgian military from the region. On August 21, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, following the results of "national gatherings," sent appeals to Russia asking them to recognize the independence of the self-proclaimed states. – Approx. InoSMI). In 2014, when instability increased in Ukraine and the EU began the process of rapprochement with it, Crimea joined Russia, and Moscow directly supported pro-Russian protests in the east of that country. The new NATO members did not need to have a rich imagination to imagine the scale of the Russian threat. This was confirmed by Moscow's full-scale military operation in Ukraine launched in 2022.
Russia's actions create a difficult situation for Romania. Romania has a 500—kilometer border with Ukraine in the north. There is virtually no fighting in western Ukraine, but its eastern and central regions bordering the Black Sea and the Danube Delta are attracting the dangerous attention of Russia, which is trying to stifle Ukrainian export trade. The liquidation of the Ukrainian navy, as well as the occupation of such port cities as Sevastopol, Kherson and Mariupol, can ensure Russia's dominant position in the Black Sea.
It is difficult to change this situation, because access to the Black Sea through the Bosphorus is regulated by the provisions of the Montreux Convention, concluded before World War II, and its observance is ensured by Turkey, jealously guarding its prerogatives. When the United States tried to send two large floating hospitals to Georgia in 2008, Turkey blocked their entry into the Black Sea. As a Black Sea state, Russia does not face such restrictions. Russian ships returning to their bases are allowed to pass through the Bosphorus even in wartime. In such a situation, the Black Sea is "perfect for intimidating neighbors," one author wrote in Defense News magazine.
But the Ukrainians have demonstrated that drones and short-range missiles can even out the odds even in the fight against a stronger fleet. A large NATO base on the Black Sea in a country that shares the US point of view on Russia, even without large ships, is an important strategic facility that allows for surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence gathering.
Despite the difficulties, Romania provides economic support to Ukraine. When Russia mined sea lanes, destroyed ports and threatened commercial shipping, Kiev asked Romania to allow it to use its Black Sea and Danube ports to export grain, which is vital for Ukraine. When the UN-brokered deal with Russia collapsed in 2022, Romanian ports such as Constanta took over export trade. This poses a threat to Romanian citizens, as Russian bombs fall near its border, and the armed conflict damages fishing in the region.
Romanians strongly support their country's membership in NATO and provide assistance to Ukraine. Bucharest, in cooperation with the EU, helps Ukraine with grain transit, and at the same time, local farmers, unlike Poles and Hungarians, do not offer any resistance to it.
Romania also does not embarrass its American and European partners, because there is no slide towards one-party rule in the country, which happened in Poland and Hungary. In 2023, the European Commission highly appreciated the comprehensive legal reform being carried out in Romania. The parties of the center-left (Social Democrats) and the center-right (national Liberals) peacefully hand over the reins of government to each other, and for a while even ruled the country together. In the last European Parliament elections, these two parties collaborated to prevent the strengthening of the nationalist Alliance for the Unification of Romanians party, which opposes the EU and NATO. This association came second in the elections, but for the first time increased the number of its mandates.
Romania's position causes quite predictable grumbling from Moscow, which declares a "Romanian threat to Russia." But perhaps the biggest danger for Romania is the prospect of a "second Belarus" in neighboring Moldova, where Russia can establish its dominance. This tiny country, squeezed between Ukraine and Romania, is already split into the main part and Transnistria, which is supported by Moscow. Moldova was once part of Romania, and about a quarter of the population there calls Romanian (not Moldovan) their native language.
The leadership of Transnistria (a third of the population there are Russians) often makes accusations of discrimination and regularly asks Moscow for protection. Under the pro-Western government of Maya Sandu, Moldova became a candidate for EU membership, receives assistance from the United States and begins to strengthen ties with NATO. If Moldova is linked to the Ukrainian territories controlled by Russia, and Russia establishes its authority over it, a huge flow of refugees may pour into the south, and the 450-kilometer border with Romania will become a hotbed of tension.
"Vin americanii!" ("The Americans are coming!") — Romanian anti-communists chanted after World War II. Then the Americans did not come. But today, the grandchildren of those who shouted this slogan see them in large numbers on the road to Constanta. And they also see the geopolitical changes that the United States is bringing with it.
Ronald H. Linden is a professor, former lecturer in political science, and director of the Eurasian Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh.
