Atlantic Council

From AFP:  US President Barack Obama Tuesday held unscheduled talks with Romania's President Traian Basescu, to seal a newly signed accord which will bring US missile interceptors to Romanian territory.

Basescu had a scheduled meeting with Vice President Joe Biden in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, but Obama stopped by and ushered him into the nearby Oval Office, the White House said.

"The President noted the close alliance between the United States and Romania, and thanked President Basescu for his strong partnership," the White House said in a statement.

"The President congratulated President Basescu on the US-Romania Ballistic Missile Defense Agreement, which exemplifies the President's commitment to strengthening NATO and ensuring allies have the capabilities to meet 21st century threats," the White House said.

The agreement, signed earlier at the State Department, allows the establishment and operation of a US land-based ballistic missile defense (BMD) system in Romania as part of NATO's efforts to build a continental missile shield.

The deployment is expected to take place in 2015 at a former airbase in southern Romania.  (photo: Jewel Samad/AFP)