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PM Ponta: True battle against Russia involves energy, not conventional weapons
Romania has to consolidate its energy security, as 'the true battle against Russia will be fought with energy, not with conventional weapons,' Prime Minister Victor Ponta said on Monday.
'There is an economic field where Romania took huge steps, and where it has to make further ones; where the support of American companies is strong. It's the energy industry. We have growth in agriculture; we have growth in industrial production; we have growth in exports. All these, however, rely on energy security, all the more as the political context in the region, which we all know, related to Russia's aggression against Ukraine, to all this state of instability and breach of an order we all thought secured for the past decades - all these actually result in the toughest challenge, which is energy security. Obviously, Romania invests more in the defence industry; obviously, NATO's decision is welcome. I still think, however, that the true battle against Russia will be fought with energy, not with conventional weapons,' Ponta said at the Parliament Palace, where he attended a seminar heading 'Promoting the Economic and Trade Strategic Partnership' organized by the American embassy, the American Chamber of Commerce in Romania (AmCham) and the American-Romanian Business Council (AMRO) in a partnership with the Romanian Government.
Within this context, Ponta estimated that 'if Romania manages to secure its own energy security and the Republic of Moldova's, at least,' the goals set for the economy are within reach.
Also attending the event were the Chamber of Deputies Chairman Valeriu Zgonea, the American embassy Charge d'affaires Dean Thompson and US Department of State Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Hoyt Yee.