Romania, US Agree on Site for Missile Shield

The missile defence system, which is set to be deployed by 2015, will be located at a former airbase at Deveselu, in the southern Olt county.

The shield in Romania is part of a wider system aimed at providing protection of NATO member countries in Europe, while increasing the protection of the United States "against the increasing threats posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles from the Middle East", a US State Department press release said.

In a statement on Tuesday, Romanian President Traian Basescu said 200 US troops will be deployed in Deveselu initially, adding the airbase will remain under the command of the Romanian Air Force.

Bucharest agreed to take part in the missile defence system in early 2010, while assuring Moscow that the shield was not directed against Russia.

President Basescu reiterated on Tuesday that the US antimissile shield is a defensive, not an offensive, system and is in no way directed at Russia.

Romania, a NATO member, is one of the most fervent supporters of the US among ex-communist East European countries.