Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said on Tuesday that his country would consider sending one of its Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine to protect it from Russian air attacks. He made the statement after a meeting with US President Joe Biden in Washington, Bloomberg reports, UNN reports.
Details
Iohannis emphasized that Romania has the longest border with Ukraine among the EU member states.
President Biden raised the topic of Patriot systems, and I told him that I am open to discussions. We will need to discuss this internally to see if we can offer one system and, of course, what we can get in return, because it is unacceptable that Romania is left without air defense
According to Bloomberg, Romania has one Patriot system already in operation and three more in the process of being installed. According to him, it may consider transferring one of these systems to Ukraine.
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Johannis also said that he discussed with Biden his bid to become the next NATO chief after Stoltenberg's term ends this year. The two agreed to continue the dialogue, despite the fact that the United States and most other allies have backed outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Context
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged allies to step up support for Ukraine's air defense at a key moment in the conflict as Russia intensified its campaign of bombing energy infrastructure and cities.
Last month, Stoltenberg said that the allies had identified additional air defense equipment for Ukraine, including Patriot and SAMP/T systems.