NATO ruled out the withdrawal of troops from Bulgaria and Romania at the request of Russia

NATO considers unacceptable Russian demand for the withdrawal of troops from Romania and Bulgaria

The alliance said that this would lead to the division of countries into first and second grade. Moscow demands the withdrawal of NATO forces from the territory of countries that were not members of the alliance in 1997. Bulgaria and Romania joined it only in 2004

NATO rejected Russia’s demand for the withdrawal of troops from Romania and Bulgaria, informed Alliance official Oan Lungescu on Twitter.

“Russia’s demands will divide the NATO countries into first and second grade, which is unacceptable. We reject any idea of ​​spheres of influence in Europe,” she wrote.

Moscow demands the withdrawal of NATO military forces and equipment from the territory of countries that were not members of the alliance in 1997. These are, in particular, Bulgaria and Romania, which joined NATO only in 2004.

In the spring of 1997, Russia and the North Atlantic Alliance signed the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security, which stated that the parties did not consider each other as adversaries. By 1997, NATO did not include the states of Eastern Europe. Several waves of bloc expansion followed. The Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary joined in 1999, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Slovakia in 2004, Croatia and Albania in 2009 and North Macedonia in 2020.