Following Poland and the Czech Republic, top military officials in Romania announced that they have approved U.S. plans to base surface-to-air missile interceptors within their country.
Romanian President Traian Basescu hastily issued a statement yesterday saying he was prepared to negotiate the details of the missile defense system which, he added, could be up and running by 2015.
Mr. Basescu said that with Romania’s participation, the system was not directed at Russia but rather “against other threats,” without specifying them.
A NATO member since 2004, Romania’s ground based missile interceptors will be designed to shoot down any short to medium-range missiles launched from Iran.
This agreement may help Russia and the U.S. with their nuclear disarmament talks as Moscow has long suggested Romania and Bulgaria as an alternative to the Poland and Czech Republic sites.