Ahead of the NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels, Romanian Defense Minister Ionuț Moșteanu said the Alliance must act"more efficiently and faster" on the eastern flank and announced support for the Eastern Sentinel initiative.

"I am here today (ed. Wednesday) with other colleagues, other allies to discuss how we can act better, faster, especially on the eastern flank. I have seen the challenges of the last weeks, the last months and I understand that we need to move faster, better and I support, we support the initiative of the Secretary General and SACEUR when they announced the Eastern Sentinel, and that means more capabilities, better air defense for the eastern flank," said Moșteanu upon his arrival at the meeting.

Minister Moșteanu also mentioned the progress and legislative initiatives in Romania regarding national defense, stating:"We have updated the legislation on air defense interventions and now we can shoot down anything flying without authorization in our airspace. We have also sent a new law for voluntary recruitment to Parliament. In November, the president will present to Parliament a new strategy for Romania's defense."

The minister also stressed that supporting Ukraine must remain the "number one" priority."Ukraine is at war, not us. But we must support them, we have supported them from day one and we will continue to do so. They must win this war, and we must remain strong, especially in the Black Sea area, which will remain an area of challenges," Moșteanu also said.

Asked if Romania feels supported by the Alliance, the Romanian official said:"Yes, we are supported. We have allied troops, and this is reassuring for our society. We have equipment, but we need more."