Biden to Basescu: increase defense budget

During talks held today between US Vice President Joe Biden and Romanian President Traian Basescu, the US official advised Romania to increase their defense budget by 2 percent of the GDP this year and confirmed plans to finalize the missile defense system at Deveselu village.

'I want to reaffirm that we are on the right path and that we will open the missile defence system site at Deveselu and I want to encourage Romania to continue its efforts to raise its defence budget to 2 percent of the GDP, as you have supplemented this year. It is a step forward for Romania and it is also a step forward for NATO,' said Biden.

The statement comes as Romania is situated less than 250 miles apart from Crimea and has Ukraine as a neighboring country.

Biden also reaffirmed the importance of NATO allies standing together, united in the face of geopolitical turmoil: 'No NATO ally stands alone, we protect each other plain and simple. Period.'

The two officials held both private and public talks at the Cotroceni Palace.