Klaus Iohannis made the statement in Bucharest on Wednesday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Parts of what could be a Russian UAV were found days after Ukraine said Russian drones had detonated on the territory of Romania, which is a NATO member, the Reuters news agency reported.
Romania’s president said on Wednesday: “If it is confirmed that the components belong to a Russian drone, such a situation would be inadmissible and a serious violation of Romania’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
He added: "We are on alert and in constant contact with our NATO allies.”
Iohannis was speaking at the start of a summit of the presidents of Three Seas Initiative countries, among them Poland’s Andrzej Duda, the PAP news agency reported.
Later in the day, Romania’s Defence Minister Angel Tilvar admitted that parts of what could be a Russian UAV had fallen on Romanian territory, according to Reuters.
"I confirm that pieces which might be the elements of a drone were found," Tilvar told Antenna 3 CNN broadcaster.
Romania’s defence minister said the area had not been evacuated because there was nothing to suggest that the parts posed a threat and said the pieces would be analysed to confirm their origin, Reuters reported.
Romanian officials had earlier denied reports of drones falling on Romanian territory and said Russian attacks in neighbouring Ukraine did not cause a direct threat, according to Reuters.
On Monday, Kyiv said that Iranian-made Shahed UAVs had detonated in Romania during an overnight Russian air strike on Ukraine’s port of Izmail, across the Danube River, the PAP news agency reported.
Russia has increased attacks on Ukraine’s grain-exporting Danube ports since July, when Moscow withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a United Nations-backed deal to unblock Ukrainian ports and allow the export of grain via the Black Sea to avert a global food crisis, according to officials.
Russia has conducted long-range air strikes on targets in Ukraine since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion in February last year.
Ukraine has reported suspected Russian weapons flying over or crashing into neighbours several times, according to Reuters.
In November, two people were killed in Poland by a missile that fell near the Ukrainian border. Poland and NATO allies later said it was a misfired Ukrainian air defence missile, according to news outlets.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Wednesday is day 560 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, Reuters, AP