In a meeting at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III praised the role Romania has played in the fight against Russian incursion in Ukraine, “I saw the outstanding relationship between our two militaries firsthand when I visited the M.K. Airbase, and your generous support has bolstered deterrence along NATO’s eastern flank. We’re also very grateful to the Romanian people for welcoming more than 3 million Ukrainian refugees and helping provide them with humanitarian assistance.”

The two leaders also used their meeting to discuss common priorities for Black Sea regional security in preparation for the July NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania including Romania’s ongoing defense modernization efforts.

Minister Tilvar took the opportunity to underscore the importance of the Black Sea Region in the stability of an international rules-based order, calling for a ‘permanent’ U.S. force presence in Romania to support Euro-Atlantic stability.

Minister Tilvar also recently met with his counterparts, including Lithuanian Minister of National Defense Arvydas Anušauskas, who were in Bucharest for the Black Sea Security Conference to discuss cooperation in support of Ukraine.