U.S. Military Bases in Romania

(Bucharest, Romania) From the standpoint of geopolitical strategy, this is an important reshuffling of players in the region.

From Xinhua:

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to visit Romania by the end of the year to sign an agreement setting up US military bases in Romania, Romanian Foreign Minister Razvan Ungureanu said on Monday.

The military deals are close to be completed, Romania's Mediafax quoted Ungureanu as saying.

The foreign minister made the remarks after meeting with his US counterpart Rice in New York.

Romanian President Traian Basescu told visiting US National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley on Oct. 23 that possible locations for the bases might be Babadag, close to the Danube delta, Constanta, on the Black sea, and Fetesti, 200 km east of Bucharest.

If a Black Sea naval base is included, which seems to be the case, the U.S. will be capable of easily projecting regional influence. Any prudent student of international affairs would deem the expansion of U.S. influence in eastern Europe and western Asia a major development.