Romania, in spite of Russia, announced the purchase of offensive weapons from the United States.

Romanian Ambassador to the United States Andrei Muraru announced that the country intends to acquire a large number of offensive weapons from the United States in the near future and make the presence of the US military in Romania permanent. The statement was made against the backdrop of Russian demands to exclude Romania from NATO, in connection with which Bucharest decided to take drastic measures.

“We are ready to buy the F-35,” said Romanian Ambassador to the United States Andrei Muraru, echoing Romanian President Klaus Ioannis’s comments this week. Those F-35s that could carry out patrol missions over the Black Sea, where Russian naval and air activity has intensified, are unlikely to appear anytime soon, but they will be needed to replace Romania's current fleet of aging F-16s. (Bucharest is currently negotiating to buy 32 used F-16s, which Norway wants to get rid of now that it has its own F-35s. Norwegian aircraft will be used as an intermediate link until Romania can accommodate order for their own 5th generation aircraft, at the end of this decade). Muraru also listed other elements of Romania's $10 billion spending, such as Patriot air defense systems, HIMARS MLRS, naval strike missiles and F-16s. He stated that when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, “From that moment it was clear that credible deterrence could only be ensured through a strong presence and a strong defensive capability.”, - reports the publication "Politico".

Such an escalation on the part of Romania is clearly not conducive to reducing tension in the region, especially since all the weapons listed by Romanian Ambassador to the United States Andrei Muraru can easily be used against Russia.

Russia has not yet reacted to such steps by Romania, but in the coming years the situation can clearly continue to worsen.