Romania has called for the US and Nato to boost their military presence in the Balkan country to promote stability in the Black Sea region following Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

The Foreign Ministry, in a statement issued yesterday, said Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean stressed the importance of an enhanced, long-term US presence in the Black Sea region “to deter any other destabilising initiatives.”

Corlatean has been in Washington this week to discuss the situation in Ukraine, which neighbours Romania, with US officials. The ministry said that visits by US warships to Romanian Black Sea ports and joint naval, aerial and terrestrial military exercises aimed at “consolidating a collective defence dimension,” should increase.

Romania, a former Communist state which joined the European Union in 2007, has been among the staunchest advocates of Western sanctions against Moscow after Russia annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea.

Romanian President Traian Basescu has called for Nato to reposition its resources in the wake of Russia’s military manoeuvres in recent months. Bucharest is especially wary that its neighbour Moldova, a tiny state with a Russian-speaking minority, could be next in Moscow’s sights.

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