Nicuşor Dan: Romania is strengthening its defenses and closing the Russian consulate in Constanţa

Nicuşor Dan stated, following the meeting of the Supreme Council for National Defense (CSAT), that Romania is strengthening its air defense capabilities and accelerating acquisitions under the European SAFE program.

“I want to inform you that, within the SAFE framework, we have an important component dedicated to air defense capabilities designed to respond to this type of incident,” stated Nicuşor Dan.

He also outlined the implementation timeline. “The contracts are being signed these days, and we will receive the delivery in a year or two.”

Referring to cooperation with Ukraine, the president said: “As you know, we have a partnership with Ukraine signed three months ago on the joint production of drones.”

At the same time, Romania is participating in a mechanism with the United States and the United Kingdom. “We have a joint mechanism with the United States and the United Kingdom to accelerate the production and testing of drones and capabilities—obviously anti-drone capabilities.”

Until the new systems are delivered, Romania is relying on allied support.

“Until this equipment is delivered, we have agreements—both bilateral and within NATO—with partners to ensure equipment is present in Romania. Some has arrived; others are on the way.”

“In the discussion I had with the NATO Secretary General, I insisted on expediting the process, and we were in complete agreement that this equipment should reach Romania as quickly as possible,” said the head of state.

On the diplomatic front, Russia’s Consulate in Constanţa will be closed, and the consul general has been declared persona non grata.

“The entire responsibility lies with Russia, a country that has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine for more than four years. In light of this situation, the Consul General of the Russian Federation in Constanţa has been declared persona non grata, and the Consulate General will be closed,” said Nicuşor Dan.

Referring to the incident, he criticized the positions of certain political leaders.

“I want to highlight the irresponsibility of certain Romanian political leaders and opinion leaders who are trying to excuse Russia regarding this incident. Now Romanian citizens can see who is pro-Western and who is merely pretending to be pro-Western.”

Regarding the drone involved, the president stated that “we had a Russian drone, a Geran-2, that departed from Russia. We know its flight path; we know where it passed through Ukraine and where it entered Romania. It was part of a swarm of 43 Russian drones, of which only one reached Romanian territory.”

The president also conveyed a message of gratitude to international partners.

“I want to thank our partners—both individually and within multilateral frameworks—in the European Union and NATO for their solidarity. This proves that there is Euro-Atlantic solidarity and unity.”