Romania, Bulgaria Reject Russia's Demand to Withdraw NATO Forces from Territories

Romania and Bulgaria affirmed on Friday that it is unacceptable for Russia to request the withdrawal of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces from Romanian and Bulgarian lands, which comes within the framework of an agreement that Moscow demands to be concluded to reduce the military escalation in the Ukrainian crisis.

A statement by the foreign ministries in each of the two countries said, “Such a request is unacceptable, and it cannot be part of the negotiation issues.”

However, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed earlier on Friday that the security guarantees Moscow requested from the West include obligating NATO forces to leave Romania and Bulgaria as part of legally binding guarantees to stop NATO’s expansion to the east and to return to the 1997 borders.

In response to a question about what this would mean for Bulgaria and Romania, which joined NATO after 1997, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow wanted to withdraw all foreign forces, weapons, and other military equipment from the two countries.

Asked what this would mean for Bulgaria and Romania, which joined NATO after 1997, the Romanian Foreign Ministry said Russia wanted to withdraw all foreign forces, weapons, and other military equipment from both countries.