Russia calls Romania a 'clear threat' and Nato outpost for hosting US missile shield
Source: The Independent
Russia sees Romania as a Nato outpost and "a clear threat" due to it hosting elements of a US anti-missile shield, a senior foreign ministry official has said.
"Romania's stance and the stance of its leadership, who have turned the country into an outpost, is a clear threat for us," Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko told the Interfax news agency in an interview.
-snip-
Accusing Romanian authorities of revelling in anti-Russian rhetoric, Mr Botsan-Kharchenko said: "All these decisions... are in the first instance aimed against Russia."
Speaking separately, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov said Russia considers the deployment of Nato troops and military hardware in the Baltic states, Poland and Germany as a threat.
Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-romania-clear-threat-nato-outpost-us-anti-missile-shield-putin-tensions-a7571031.html
cilla4progress
(24,708 posts)Hitler 2.0
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,137 posts)cilla4progress
(24,708 posts)Analogy? I shall research him.
DetlefK
(16,423 posts)Allied with Nazi-Germany in WWII.
Invaded and occupied by Russia.
The king deposed and replaced with Communism.
The country plunged into poverty and corruption, ruled by a brutal tyrant, his secret police, naked nepotism and cronyism.
Corruption, oppression, torture-dungeons.
You know what the Romanians did when they finally had enough?
They started huge protests.
The tyrant held a public speech to such a protest, trying to calm the people down.
The people were horrified that he didn't even understand why they were protesting and his speech was the spark that caused a 1-week civil-war in the streets of the capital Bucharest, late December 1989.
The tyrant tried to escape in his helicopter, but the pilot faked an emergency-landing to get out of this.
He was arrested and the plan was to put him on trial for his crimes.
When rumors came up that agents loyal to the tyrant would try to free him, the revolutionaires lead him to the backyard and shot him on the spot.
Nowadays, Romania is a hub of unfettered robber-baron capitalism (in a desperate bid to get the economy going) and corruption. As of writing this, there are huge anti-corruption-protests in Romania.
It's not just the missile-shield that's pissing off Russia about Romania. Romania has close ties to many western companies. When Romanians emigrate to seek a better life, they aren't looking to the east towards Russia. They are looking to the West towards Western Europe. And those Romanians old enough to remember just HATE Communism and everything associated with it.
starshine00
(531 posts)I wonder if Russia is going to call each of its desired targets a 'threat' and then attempt to invade them one by one
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)these days, wondering how Trump will decide to play his NATO "cards"--as he regards issues of existential importance to functional minds.
elehhhhna
(32,076 posts)which is why they were bombed first in World War II . Much of those reserves have not been developed . If he goes for Romania it's all about the oil
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)OR...perhaps our new SoS could make a deal with Russia to give Exxon special rights in Romania?
elehhhhna
(32,076 posts)I believe they were actually the first American company to ever go there and that was before the war.
Fun fact, Romania lets oil and gas producers abandone wells without plugging them or cleaning up the wellsite. Pretty easy to do business there , cheap anyway. Current exploration going on in the Carpathian mountains you might remember that from Dracula.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)DK504
(3,847 posts)but we are so far beyond that at this point. The Cheetolini and Pootie Poots are actively trying to start WWIII.
Bayard
(21,991 posts)Sorry.
There are going to be more and more excuses like this to start a war. Next thing you'll be hearing is that ISIS is there.
tammywammy
(26,582 posts)Period. They are used against air & missile threats in the sky. They aren't tactical go blow up some building weapons.
Why does Romania or Poland or South Korea not deserve to protect themselves from air & missile threats? To me the fact that Russia views the Romanian system a a threat means they're mad that some plan to attack Romania is harder now. Same with South Korea and deploying the THAAD systems that China and North Korea are upset about. If you don't plan to use offensive tactical weapons against another county why would you care that they have a defensive air & missile system?