President Traian Basescu: Mister Putin, come be our partner, the threats are not the same

President Traian Basescu declared on Monday, in an interview for the public TV station, TVR, that Russia is still captive in the Cold War logics and that it should not see NATO as a threat anymore. „Mister Putin, come be our partner, the threats are not the same. You will not find any threat in any of the NATO states”, said Traian Basescu.

„Moscow keeps offering signals that indicate how Brussels is still seen in a Cold War context. If Georgia and Ukraine have the option to join NATO, why are the discussions abut the way we point missiles at them?”, said Basescu.

Russia is affected by terrorist acts and this is its common point with NATO: „Why can’t we step out of the Cold War logics? Who could ever imagine that Russia would ever attack the NATO states?”, asked president Basescu.

„Up to this moment, as host-country, we don’t have the certitude that president Putin will be here”, the president added.

Concerning the situation in Afghanistan, president Traian Basescu emphasized that Romania will not become an unconditional troop provider. „There will be a demand for troop supplementation, for sure. But Romania will have a fair approach”, Basescu ensured his audience, adding that a failure in the region would affect Romania’s security as well. Romania is ready to offer more soldiers, but not n times when other partners withdrew their troops to safety of brought it back home. „We appeal to our partners to participate in the same manner we do”, said Basescu. „In Afghanistan, we defend the very credibility of NATO, the security structure Romania is part of”.

Concerning the treaty with Ukraine, Traian Basescu said that those who signed it should have negotiated more and shouldn’t have given up in front of some demands. „The people responsible for signing the treaty left the national interest back home”, the head of state concluded.