Romania will be drawn into a military conflict with Russia by Ukraine, a state that wants to reclaim the Crimean peninsula. It's all part of a plan devised by the Americans, who use intermediaries to provoke Russia at the Black Sea.
NEWS: “And so, the plot about the American project regarding the Ukrainian-Romanian ‘military alliance’ thickens by the day. And the suicidal passivity of the Bucharest authorities in avoiding getting drawn into this international trap, which can have disastrous results for Romania's geo-global security, further encourages Kiev's strategy to attract a member state of the European Union, and especially of NATO, in the process of ‘unfreezing’ the conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation” , ziarulnational.ro reads.
NARRATIVES: 1. Ukraine will draw Romania, an EU and NATO member state, into a conflict with Russia, and this is part of an US plan; 2. The conflict between Ukraine and Russia will escalate due to Kiev’s aggressiveness.
LOCAL CONTEXT / ETHOS: Ukraine will launch the “Crimea Platform” on August 23, a project designed to attract international support for the recovery of Crimea, annexed by Russia in March 2014. Moscow labels Kiev's intention as “a nonsense”.
Ukraine will hold an international summit attended by leaders from around the world. The initiative belongs to the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has already expressed his intention to run for a second presidential term and has taken a much tougher stance on Russia in the past year. Zelensky first spoke about the ‘Crimean Platform’ in his September 23, 2020 speech at the UN General Assembly.
On the other hand, Romania signed, on September 5, 2020, the Agreement between the Government and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on technical-military cooperation. On July 16, President Klaus Iohannis promulgated the law for the ratification of the Romanian-Ukrainian Agreement. The document provides for the purchase of weapons and military equipment under joint projects, and the production of weapons and military equipment, the repair and modernization of arms, as well as the sale of licenses for the production of weapons and military equipment, while providing technical support for their production. The Agreement also provides for the establishment of the Joint Romanian-Ukrainian Commission for Technical-Military Cooperation, in order to apply the provisions of the Agreement. The two countries are also committed to cooperating in protecting classified information.
PURPOSE: To mislead the public about a so-called Romanian-Ukrainian alliance against Russia.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: The agreement in question does not refer to any military alliance between the two countries. In fact, Romania is already a member of the largest military alliance, which is NATO.
On the other hand, Ukraine aspires to this status, but it is hard to believe that it will be allowed to join the members of the North Atlantic Alliance any time soon, given that it has a region annexed by Russia and a smoldering conflict in the east of the country, in Lugansk and Donbass.
The military cooperation under the Agreement is related in particular to old weapons and equipment, of Soviet origin, which the Romanian Army still has and which require repair and maintenance services, and Ukraine can provide such services.
Moreover, Ukraine's defense industry is preparing to gradually align with NATO standards, and Romania can help in this regard.
However, there is no official plan by NATO or the USA for Romania and Ukraine to forge a “military alliance”. In fact, the Romanian and Ukrainian military have been participating for years in joint regional military exercises under the auspices of NATO, which helps ensure the interoperability of the two armies alongside the NATO allies.
The latest National Security Strategy, adopted in September 2020 by the Kiev authorities, does not list Romania among the countries with which Ukraine wants to conclude a strategic partnership.
THE NARRATIVE BENEFITS: the Kremlin, in an attempt to disinform the public about a so-called alliance forged between Bucharest and Kiev against Russia.
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