Joe Biden in Romania: You can count on us!

The situation in Ukraine made U.S. officials talk more about the region and ensure NATO countries that the U.S. is backing them. U.S. Vice President, Joe Biden arrived yesterday in Bucharest, Romania as part of a campaign to reassure east European allies that USA is not backing down.

Romania hosts the last European Union border in the east. The country has been very vocal about the situation in Ukraine because it's so close to the region. Housing a US military base at the Black Sea, Romania has been a member of NATO since 2004 and supported U.S. Army with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“I'm here to say on behalf of the President (Barack Obama) what I think you already know. You can count on us! We do what we say and we mean what we say,” was Biden's message for Romanians He also expressed his gratitude for the Romanian troops still present in Afghanistan. “I especially want to pay tribute to the 26 Romanians who gave their life in Iraq and Afghanistan and 143 who were wounded. We owe them and their love ones a gratitude that we will never be able to repay.” More than 1,000 Romanian troops are still present today in Afghanistan.

He also condemned Russia's aggression in Ukraine. “The aggression in Crimea, less than 250 miles from Romanian territory, from NATO borders reminds us why we need NATO and why Romania belongs to NATO. What Russia has done, violates not just Ukraine's sovereignty, but a fundamental principle we fought for in the 20 century and thought we clearly established. Europe's borders should never again be changed at the point of a gun and that is why we continue to condemn Russia's illegal occupation of Crimea,” said Biden.

Joe Biden visited Romania for the third time and his visit comes a month before the scheduled visit of Barack Obama in Europe.