NATO Welcomes Signing Of Antimissile Shield Agreement By Romania And USA

„I welcome the signing of the agreement under which the United States will deploy anti-missile interceptors in Romania. The deployment of these defensive interceptors will be an important element of NATO’s missile defense capability, which was agreed at the Lisbon summit last November,” said Rasmussen.

He highlighted that the agreement represents a step forward in the North Atlantic Alliance’s effort to defend against ballistic missile threats.

„The interceptors in Romania will significantly contribute to NATO’s capability to provide protection to its European territory, populations and forces against the growing threat posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles,” added Rasmussen.

The Agreement on the Deployment of the Ballistic Missile Defense System in Romania was signed Tuesday in Washington by Baconschi and Hillary Clinton.

The agreement was signed shortly after the meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama, Vice-President Joe Biden and Romanian President Traian Basescu.

The signing comes one and a half years after Romania’s participation in the defense system was announced, on February 4, 2010.