Romanian Foreign Minister: Russian Drone Incident Could Justify invoking NATO Article 4

Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Toiu stated on Friday that the crash of a Russian drone into a residential building in Galati meets the criteria that could justify the use of NATO’s Article 4 consultations mechanism. Toiu’s remarks were cited by Digi24 and reported by European Pravda. Asked whether Article 4 of the NATO Treaty should be activated, the Romanian foreign minister said that “it is a tool that Romania can make use of”. “Last night’s incident falls into the category of incidents that justify the use of instruments of this kind. We are talking about consultations among allied states when one of them considers that there is a threat to its security. Obviously, invoking Article 4 is a collective decision. It is part of the discussions regarding the options available to us at this moment,” she noted. When asked whether a meeting of Romania’s Supreme Council of National Defense would be convened over the drone incident and whether she had discussed the matter with President Nicusor Dan, Toiu replied that consultations were ongoing. “The President will make the necessary statements during the course of today. It is the President’s prerogative to convene the Supreme Council of National Defense and, accordingly, to inform the public. Both the Minister of Defense and I remain in constant contact with the President, the Prime Minister, and our allies. The NATO Secretary General has also received all the relevant information,” Toiu said. She also stated that Russia’s ambassador to Romania had been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “in response to statements made by the Russian Federation regarding missions present on the territory of Ukraine”. Asked whether the Russian ambassador would be summoned again following the drone incident, Toiu replied: “We will return to this issue later today with diplomatic-level responses”. Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty provides for consultations among NATO member states whenever any ally considers that its territorial integrity, political independence, or security is under threat.