February 1 marks the
\ncelebration of 30 years since Romania and Ukraine established diplomatic
\nrelations. The ex-Soviet republic proclaimed its independence in 1991, with
\nformal diplomatic relations between the two countries initiated the next year. Romania
\nwas also the first EU member state to ratify the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement in
\n2014.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
In this context, but also amid
\ndisquieting security developments in the Black Sea region, the president of
\nRomania Klaus Iohannis had a telephone conversation with his Ukrainian
\ncounterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
During
\nthe talks, the Romanian official dwelled extensively on possible solutions to
\nissues related to the rights of the Romanian minority in Ukraine, and
\nespecially on protecting their linguistic identity. He reiterated Bucharest’s firm
\nsupport for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to its EU and
\nNATO accession efforts. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The
\nRomanian president also emphasised his support for the non-recognition of the
\nillegal annexation of Crimea, and commended Ukraine’s responsible conduct to
\navoid the escalation of tensions. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
In turn,
\nthe Ukrainian official thanked Romania for its vocal and active support
\nboth at EU and at NATO level. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The Romanian and Ukrainian
\nforeign ministries also exchanged messages of congratulations. Romania’s
\nforeign minister Bogdan Aurescu stressed the importance of the relation with
\nUkraine and reiterated Romania’s commitment to developing bilateral relations,
\nin the spirit of European values and in line with the European and
\nEuro-Atlantic agenda of the ex-Soviet republic. He also voiced hopes that the
\nopen and solid dialogue between the two countries, which he has constantly
\npromoted and supported, will lead to quick and sustainable solutions to the
\nidentity issues faced by the ethnic Romanian community in Ukraine. He also highlighted
\nthe commitment to stepping up cross-border cooperation in areas of mutual
\ninterest. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The Romanian foreign
\nministry also reiterated Romania’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and
\nterritorial integrity and for its right to decide freely on its foreign and
\nsecurity policy. At the same time, the Romanian authorities voiced confidence
\nthat the Ukrainian people’s democratic aspirations will be a driving force for
\nthe reform process in Kyiv. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The
\nsituation remains tense at Ukraine’s border with Russia, where Moscow massed
\nover 100,000 troops and military equipment and,
\naccording to analysts, is preparing an invasion. Russia denies this, but it did
\nask NATO to pull out its troops from Romania and Bulgaria, as part of its
\nsecurity plans. Moreover, Russia’s president Vladimir Putin warned
\nthat Ukraine’s NATO accession may trigger a war between Moscow and the
\nNorth-Atlantic Alliance. (A.M.P.) <\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The president of Ukraine Volodymyr\u00a0Zelensky had a telephone conversation with his Romanian counterpart Klaus\u00a0Iohannis<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":86040,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[36552,36272,32644,37073,30320,29774,19347,29310,36678,28905],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-91008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-build-up","tag-diplomatic","tag-independence","tag-integrity","tag-military","tag-relations","tag-romania","tag-russia","tag-sovereignty","tag-ukraine"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n