10/22/2009 8:32 AM
ET
(RTTNews) -
U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden, on the second leg of his three-nation trip to Eastern Europe, met with Romanian President Traian Basescu Thursday and thanked him for his government's support of a revamped U.S. missile shield being planned in Europe.
He also appreciated Romania for sending soldiers to Afghanistan. An active partner of the US-led coalition forces in Iraq for years, the former Communist country currently has 1,045 troops in Afghanistan
Romania, which was not covered by the Bush administration's antimissile defense program, welcomed the new plan mooted by President Barrack Obama.
"The new system protects the whole of the Romanian territory against possible missile attacks and this is very important," AFP quoted Bogdan Aurescu, a Romanian foreign ministry official, as saying.
However, during a joint press conference he addressed with Biden, Basescu did not comment on the new missile plan, and it was unclear what role, if any, Romania would play with it.
"Nothing has changed in our relations," he told reporters.
Basescu is running for the presidential election due exactly a month later.
Biden's three-day tour of the region aimed at refreshing Washington's ties with its allies concludes Friday with a visit to the Czech Republic.
Since the end of Communism 20 years ago in Eastern Europe, most of the pro-Soviet Communist states in the region became staunch allies of the United States.
by RTT Staff Writer
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