Romania offers to pay US to maintain NATO's military buildup near Russia - report

Bucharest is seeking to preserve and expand the American military presence on NATO's eastern flank as the Trump administration considers reducing US troop deployments across Europe, the Financial Times reports.

Romanian President Nicușor Dan has proposed covering part of the costs of stationing US forces in the country, seeking to keep Washington committed to NATO's military infrastructure near Russia.

Romania currently hosts around 1,172 US troops, down from 1,700, and is pushing for additional personnel and advanced military capabilities.

Bucharest also plans to invest approximately €4 billion by 2040 in expanding the Mihail Kogălniceanu air base near the Black Sea into a major NATO military hub.

The initiative comes amid NATO's continued military expansion along its eastern flank, with Romania serving as a key location for the alliance's growing infrastructure and force deployments in the Black Sea region.

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Source of information: Global News Agencies including REUTERS / TASS / AFP / ANADOLU / INT.RU / Al Jazeera / CNN