May 6, 2005

Romania Minister Discusses Troop Transfer

WASHINGTON -- Romania's foreign minister met on Thursday with officials from the State Department, Pentagon and National Security Council to discuss the potential transfer to Romania and Bulgaria of U.S. troops now in Germany.

The shift is part of a revamping of U.S. forces abroad.

"We've had discussions and I think we will continue to have them concerning what kind of presence we will have in Europe," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said after meeting with Mihai Razvan Ungureanu of Romania.

"It's a very important process that we are going through of the repositioning of our forces, but it's something that really can't be rushed," she said.

Rice paid tribute to Romania, a NATO member, as an ally that has joined the United States in Iraq and elsewhere "in fighting for freedom and for democracy."

Ungureau offered assurances that Romania "believes in the value of democracy" and promoting it around the world.

"We keep steady and firm in our foreign policy," he said at a news conference with Rice.