Romania’s foreign minister invited to Parliament
The Russian-Ukrainian standoff is in the focus of political debates in Bucharest
Bogdan Matei, 17.02.2022, 14:00
Romanias embassy in Kyiv is fully operational, the Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu announced.
Invited by the foreign policy committees in the Senate and Chamber of Deputies to present the security developments in the Black Sea region, the minister said a procedure was put into place to bring back into the country the families of the diplomatic staff at the Romanian embassy in the capital Kyiv and the consulate general in the Black Sea port city of Odessa, in the south of Ukraine.
The other 2 consular offices, located in Solotvino, in Transcarpathia, and in Cernăuţi, in northern Bukovina, both of them in the west of Ukraine, are not covered by this procedure, thanks to the higher security level in those regions, the minister explained.
Aurescu added that all the embassies of EU member states in Kyiv apply the same logic, and it was important for Ukraines western partners to convey a coherent message.
Last week, the Romanian foreign ministry announced raising the alert level for Ukraine. With the steady Russian military buildup at Ukraines border, the Romanian authorities firmly recommend that Romanian nationals avoid travelling to that country and pay close attention to regional developments. They also urge Romanian citizens in Ukraine to reconsider remaining there.
Avoiding travels to the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, to the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, where pro-Russian secessionists play a major role, and to Ukraines borders with Russia and Belarus, is also highly recommended.
The authorities also urge Romanian nationals, including journalists, to avoid large crowds, to stay up to date with information from reliable sources and to promptly adjust their plans to the security situation.
Bucharest used all the official channels, from the presidency to the government and foreign ministry, to affirm its support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. As a NATO and EU member state, Romania has joined in the sanctions against the Russian Federation.
According to Romanian mass media, in the case of a Russian invasion in Ukraine, Bucharest is also taking into account the management of an inflow of refugees from that state.
The Romanian community is Ukraine, totaling over 400,000 people, is mostly located in northern Bukovina, northern and southern Bassarabia and Hertsa County, all of them former Romanian territories annexed by the former USSR in 1940 and incorporated into Ukraine in 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union. (A.M.P.)
