March 6, 2022 UPDATE

French defence minister and Romanian president and PM visit Mihail Kogălniceanu air base in SE Romania./ Republic of Moldova calls for support to cope with influx of Ukrainian refugees./ Canadian foreign minister travels to Romania on Monday.

Newsroom, 06.03.2022, 18:09

NATO. The military aggression of the Russian Federation
against Ukraine has dramatic and fundamental consequences for European security
and the international community has responded in a united and swift manner,
said Romanian president Klaus Iohannis on Sunday. He visited the 57th
Air Base in Mihail Kogălniceanu, in the south-east,
together with prime minister Nicolae Ciucă and the French defence minister
Florence Parly. Iohannis also praised the way in which Romania responded to the
large influx of refugees, providing shelter and decent conditions. He said
Bucharest seeks a consolidation of the deterrence and defence posture on NATO’s
eastern flank, in particular in the Black Sea area, through the deployment of
allied forces and by speeding up the establishment of a NATO battlegroup in
Romania. Prime minister Nicolae Ciucă said the world’s strongest political and
military alliance is in Romania, strengthening the eastern flank to defend all
allies and every centimetre of NATO territory. French defence minister Florence
Parly said Romania and France are more than partners, they are friends, and
that France will lead the NATO battlegroup in Romania. The French battalion in Mihail
Kogalniceanu is the first land element of the NATO response force deployed to
Romania to bolster the defence of the NATO eastern flank following the Russian
invasion of Ukraine. Military from the US, Germany and Italy are also in
Romania.

Moldova.
The prime minister of the Republic of Moldova Natalia
Gavriliţa has urged the United States for additional humanitarian assistance to
her country to help it cope with the influx of refugees from Ukraine. She told
visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that 120,000 of the 230,000
people who have crossed the border into Moldova from Ukraine have stayed, which
is a very large number for a small country of 2.6 million like Moldova. Blinken
promised full support from the United States and said he admired the
generosity, the hospitality and the willingness shown by Moldovans. During his
trip to Poland on Saturday, Blinken said the Biden administration asked
Congress to approve humanitarian support of 2.75 billion dollars for the
refugees and the neighbouring countries where they are fleeing, Romania,
Moldova, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia.

Romania-Canada. Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu will have talks
on Monday with his Canadian counterpart Melanie Joly, who will make an official
visit to Romania. The two officials will discuss the 55th
anniversary this year of uninterrupted ties between Romania and Canada and bilateral
strategic cooperation. Talks will also focus on the Russian aggression against
Ukraine and its humanitarian and security consequences, as well as on the efficient
and coherent response to the unfolding humanitarian crisis through the rapid involvement
of the European institutions, EU member states and other partners such as
Canada, the UK and the US.

Exercise. Romanian defence minister Vasile Dîncu will meet his Dutch
counterpart Kajsa Ollongren at the 57th Air Base in Mihail
Kogălniceanu. Some 150 Dutch military are stationed here to take part in the
Rapid Falcon 22 multinational exercise between 7th and 14th
of March in Tulcea, in south-eastern Romania. The exercise seeks to improve
interoperability and joint response through joint training to develop
functional relations between participating structures. (CM)