Top NATO and U.S. officials were in Romania on Thursday to inaugurate a new facility for their European missile defence shield, despite Russia condemning the step as "harmful" and a threat against "strategic stability."
Moscow believes that the new system could shoot down Russian missiles, while NATO has argued that this is technically impossible. The United States said it is meant to counter the continuing threat posed by Iran.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was due to attend the inauguration ceremony in Deveselu together with U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defence Robert Work.