U.S. Defense Secretary visits Romania amid Black Sea tour

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is visiting Romania Wednesday as part of a three-country tour to reassure Black Sea allies on security issues amid ongoing tensions with Russia

BUCHAREST, Romania -- U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Romania Wednesday as part of a three-country tour to reassure Black Sea allies on security issues amid ongoing tensions with Russia.

Austin met with his Romanian counterpart Nicolae-Ionel Ciuca, and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, and paid a visit to Romania's eastern Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase.

“The security and stability of the Black Sea are in the U.S.’s national interest and are critical to the security of NATO’s eastern flank,” he said . “The region, it goes without saying, is vulnerable to Russian aggression.”

Austin added: “We’ve seen evidence of that by ongoing actions in eastern Ukraine, the occupation of parts of Georgia and the militarization of the Black Sea and provocative actions in the air and at sea.”