Romania and the Ukraine Situation
Romania understands the heightened danger of the armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine, said recently President Klaus Iohannis. Bucharests preoccupation with the situation in the neighboring country is amplified by the presence there of a significant Romania
România Internațional, 18.02.2015, 13:56
During Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin’s visit to Bucharest Tuesday, his Romanian counterpart Bogdan Aurescu said that Romania was profoundly interested in having on its border a strong, united, democratic Ukraine, firmly on a European path through reform. Klimkin said that his country wanted to have a strategic relationship with Romania, much as it enjoys with Poland.
The talks between the Ukrainian official and the president of Romania Klaus Iohannis and top diplomat Aurescu focused on the developments in eastern Ukraine, especially the recent cease fire agreement signed in Minsk on February 12, and the development of bilateral relations. The Bucharest officials have reiterated their firm support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, within its internationally recognized borders. Iohannis said he hoped the recent armistice would be observed by all parties and would help stabilize the region.
In this context, Minister Aurescu expressed once again his country’s wish for the partial mobilization declared in the neighboring country to be a fair one, with no discriminatory practices, especially along ethnic lines. Klimkin said that Romanian ethnics in Ukraine were not treated discriminatorily. This insistence came as a result of information emerging according to which ethnic Romanians were targeted when sending troops to face off against pro-Russian separatists in the east.
The president and foreign minister also extended Romania’s unfettered support for Ukraine’s continued bid to be a part of the European and democratic family. Klimkin thanked Bucharest for its support, emphasizing the fact that Romania was the first EU member state to ratify the association agreement between Ukraine and the Union, back in July 2014. As for bilateral priorities, Aurescu pleaded for the quick implementation of the bilateral agreement on small-scale cross-border trade, which Romania already ratified last month.
Here is what he said: “The agreement entails the creation of consular offices on both sides of the border to issue small-scale trade permits. Romania has already informed our colleagues in Ukraine on our wish for the future consular office to be in Solotvino.”
Aurescu underlined the fact that the implementation of the accord would send a positive signal to the ethnic minorities on either side of the border. Aurescu and Klimkin have agreed to organize a joint government session, resuming the activities of the joint economic commission, as well as restarting the joint commission on national minorities.
