The Romanian authorities have declared the Russian Federation's military, air and naval attaché in Bucharest and his deputy persona non grata on the territory of the country due to carrying out activities that contradict the provisions of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, Agerpres reported, citing a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, BTA reported.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this decision was communicated to the Russian side today, and for this purpose the chargé d'affaires of the Russian Federation Embassy in Bucharest was summoned to the ministry on the orders of Foreign Minister Emil Hurezianu.
Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced earlier today that he agrees with the increase in defense spending, provided that the money goes exclusively to factories of the Romanian defense industry. The Prime Minister also reiterated the position of the authorities in Bucharest against sending Romanian soldiers to Ukraine.
„The European Commission has agreed with Romania. Defense spending will not be included in the calculation of the budget deficit! I will respond to the letter of the President of the European Commission on the plan to rearm Europe, that I agree to allocate additional funds for armaments, provided that the money goes exclusively to the factories of the Romanian defense industry. This way we will be able to hire additional people and produce in three shifts! The plan, announced yesterday in Brussels, shows that Europe understands the urgent need to increase defense spending, by deducting these amounts from the calculation of the budget deficit. "Exactly what Romania has been supporting since the beginning of the war in Ukraine," Ciolacu wrote in a post on his Facebook page.
According to the Romanian prime minister, the emergence of a new European loan instrument worth 150 billion euros for defense investments and support for private capital will help open new production units in Romania.
Ciolacu concludes his post with the words: YES to increasing defense spending, NO to sending Romanian soldiers to Ukraine.
Romania, which is a member of the EU and NATO and has the longest common land border with Ukraine, plans to increase its defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP this year, compared to just over 2.2 percent in 2024, Reuters reported.