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Romania Backs NATO Expansion To W Balkans, Serbia Is Key To Peace In Region – President

Romanian President Traian Basescu said Thursday that Romania unreservedly supports NATO expansion to the Western Balkans, to include Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia, describing Serbia as the “key to peace” in the region.
Romania Backs NATO Expansion To W Balkans, Serbia Is Key To Peace In Region – President
19 nov. 2009, 21:09, English

Basescu on Thursday had a meeting in Brussels with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

On touching the issue of NATO expansion, Rasmussen said it is important NATO’s Open Door Policy continue, adding he wants to see every state in the Western Balkans integrated in Euro-Atlantic Structures. He also said he hopes the first step toward achieving this goal would be taken at the assembly of foreign affairs ministers in December.

Basescu said the issue of the new strategic concept of security was also touched during the meeting. Basescu stressed article 5 of the Treaty (union security clause) should remain unchanged, adding that the Alliance should find security-related solutions concerning the borders of NATO members.

The meeting also touched the issue of security in the Republic of Moldova, as well as NATO-Georgia and NATO-Ukraine cooperation perspectives. The topic of implementing the treaty on European conventional weapons control in its entirety was also discussed, Basescu said.