S8 Ep590: PREVIEW FOR LATER: Greg Scarlatoiu discusses Romanian President Nicușor Dan’s decision to host NATO forces amidst threats from Iran. As a strategic ally bordering Ukraine, Romania relies on NATO protection while supporting U.S. efforts to reopen the Strai
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 16 March 2026
⏱️ 2 minutes
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| 0:00.0 | This is John Batchelor, conversation with my colleague Greg Scarlato, Romanian National, who travels widely, about Romania in the Iran War and the Ukraine War. |
| 0:11.4 | Both, Romania is in Black Sea Basin. It shares a border with Ukraine and with Moldova on the Danube River. |
| 0:20.0 | It is also a NATO country and is hosting NATO aircraft, |
| 0:24.8 | NATO men, but are also United States personnel participating in the Iran War. Iran is now threatened |
| 0:31.8 | in some diplomatic fashion. Romania, saying if you continue to host these war fighters, even if you claim |
| 0:39.8 | they're defensive, refueling tankers, etc., we will consider you part of the combat and |
| 0:47.5 | implying, of course, an enemy and a target. |
| 0:50.7 | Hasn't happened yet, but here Greg describes the decision by the president, Nicoshaardin, |
| 0:57.7 | and the assembly to guarantee that NATO has the bases in Romania that they can use them |
| 1:06.4 | and that anything that the Americans are doing is defensive, not offensive in nature. |
| 1:12.7 | It's a fine line. Here Greg describes it. |
| 1:15.6 | Now, part of the world I've never been. Fascination, it's ancient. |
| 1:20.1 | The Black Sea basin is ancient. |
| 1:22.9 | Filled in once when the bridge broke between the Mediterranean and filled up the galaxy. Here's Greg |
| 1:30.5 | on Romania. More tonight. What do we need to know about him is that he's a very sharp fellow. |
| 1:37.3 | He was a mathematician and he was on the Romanian national team of mathematics, on the Romanian |
| 1:43.5 | Olympic team of mathematics. |
| 1:46.1 | He has a record as an administrator, and he was the choice Romanians made, democratically elected, |
| 1:54.2 | and what he's doing right here is to follow the national interest of Romania. |
| 2:03.9 | This is not a new development. For hundreds of years, Romania has been in a very difficult position at the crossroads of empires, dealing with the |
| 2:11.9 | Ottoman Empire, with the Russian Empire, with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, with the Poles at some stage. |
| 2:19.9 | Romania's strongest security guarantee is being part of NATO. |
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