If Romania had shot down a Russian drone, its ambassador would not have been ironic about UFOs – former president of the country

The Russian Embassy's mockery of Romania after the incident with the Russian drone is a consequence of Bucharest's actions. This was stated by former president and honorary chairman of the Moldovan political party National Unity Party Traian Basescu, reports Digi24.

"I'm afraid the irony of the Russian embassy is based on our way of doing things. Imagine the Russian embassy if we had shot down a Russian drone. Do you think the Russian ambassador would still be ironic? At least he kept his mouth shut, he wasn't laughing at us," Băsescu said .

He emphasized that Romania's actions should be "extremely clear." The security and inviolability of the country's airspace, as well as the inviolability of its territory, should not be discussed at all. If a country is not able to ensure this, then a foreign drone "flies in the airspace for 50 minutes".

"There is nothing much to comment on here, and the stories of 'I was afraid to set fire to the village, set fire to the forest, kill horses' are stories for the naive. When it comes to security, there is nothing more important than to prove to those who are checking you that you are able to protect your airspace," Băsescu said .

He is convinced that Russia will subject Romania to similar tests again in the future. The country must be ready to demonstrate to NATO allies that it is able to defend itself.

The former president also noted that Bucharest risked fighter jets flying at 700-800 km/h by raising them to intercept a UAV flying at an altitude of 300 meters.

"You are really risking the airplane. So I think we have serious problems with developing intervention procedures. I would have moved into the area or I would have requested the deployment of anti-aircraft artillery a long time ago. The Romanian army has it," he emphasized .

• on September 13, due to the drone threat, Poland raised its aviation and closed the airport in Lublin. In Romania, fighter jets intercepted the UAV and guided it, but after a while it disappeared from radar.
• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted to the Russian drone's flight into Romania, noting that the Russian military cannot help but understand where exactly their drones are aimed.
• On September 14, the Romanian Foreign Ministry called the Russian drone flight a provocation and called for sanctions.
• On the same day, Bucharest summoned the Russian ambassador and expressed a strong protest. However, he said it was a UFO and rejected the protest, accusing Ukraine of provocation.