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US and Romania close to deal on Black Sea bases: msg#00517
culture.discuss.cia-drugs
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US and Romania close to deal on Black Sea bases |
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-10-23T113810Z_01_MOL341850_RTRUKOC_0_US-USA-ROMANIA-BASES.xml
US and Romania close to deal on Black Sea bases
Sun Oct 23, 2005 7:38 AM ET173
By Radu Marinas
BUCHAREST (Reuters) - The United States and new NATO member Romania are
very close to reaching an agreement to establish American military
bases on the Black Sea, U.S. National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley
said on Sunday.
Romania has been promoting its airfields and bases as a possible hub
for U.S. forces as Washington pulls 70,000 troops out of central Europe
and Asia in the next decade to smaller bases closer to potential hot
spots such as the Middle East.
"There's an issue of finalizing the relevant agreement and then signing
it. The framework basically allows access to facilities so as to
facilitate cooperation between the forces of the United States and
Romania," Hadley told reporters after meeting President Traian Basescu
to discuss regional issues.
"We look forward to the conclusion of that agreement very soon," said
the White House official, who also praised Romania's contribution to
U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Washington's realignment plans are expected to involve a shift to
small, flexible military bases in the former eastern bloc as it reduces
its presence in Germany, a Cold War legacy.
"Negotiations (on bases) are practically over," Basescu said.
The bases are seen as important in Romania's drive to secure more
foreign investment to close the enormous wealth gap separating it from
the European Union, which it hopes to join as early as 2007.
Romania's southern neighbor Bulgaria has also said it is drafting a
deal to set up U.S. bases on the Black Sea.
Basescu said possible locations for the bases could be Babadag close to
the Danube delta, facilities in Constanta on the Black sea and in
Fetesti, some 200 km (125 miles) east of Bucharest.
"You can imagine the area of Babadag, Constanta and maybe Fetesti,"
Basescu said without elaborating.
Romanian military officials had said Bucharest had offered a location
at Kogalniceanu near the Black Sea and also a shooting range at
Babadag, 30 km (18 miles) south of Kogalniceanu.
U.S. soldiers used the Kogalniceanu airbase in southeastern Romania as
a hub to send equipment and 7,000 combat troops into Iraq during the
early stages of the 2003 invasion, and temporarily kept up to 3,500
American troops there.
Basescu said he had also assured Washington that his country remains
committed to support U.S-led military campaigns: "Romania will continue
to fulfil its obligations in Afghanistan and Iraq."
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