Ukraine-South-Eastern Europe Summit
Romania’s president joined other regional leaders for the summit in Odesa
Ştefan Stoica, 12.06.2025, 14:00
Leaders from South-Eastern Europe, including the new president of Romania, Nicuşor Dan, condemned, on Wednesday, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, at the end of the fourth Ukraine – South-Eastern Europe Summit hosted by Odesa, a major Ukrainian port on the Black Seacoast, repeatedly targeted by Moscow’s attacks, AFP reports. “We strongly condemn the brutal war of aggression waged by Russia against Ukraine”, reads the joint statement released by the Ukrainian presidency. The signatories of the document reiterated their commitment to providing comprehensive and lasting support to Ukraine and its people for as long as it’s necessary and called on all nations to refrain from providing any form of material or other type of assistance to Russia’s war effort.
The statement also calls for the complete withdrawal of Russian forces and equipment from all Ukrainian territory as an essential and non-negotiable prerequisite for peace. The signatory countries also support Ukraine on its irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership, and call for tougher sanctions against Moscow.
In his speech, president Nicuşor Dan called for a firm condemnation of Russia’s actions, which he said were using strategies to delay and sabotage the peace process. The only language Russia understands is force and its demands for a peace agreement are unreasonable, the president said. Nicuşor Dan pointed out that European countries must stand united in defending international law, respect for human life, dignity, freedom and democracy, values that the Ukrainian people defend every day. “The countries represented around this table are part of the European Union or aspire to this status. Romania knows from its own experience that EU accession is a profoundly transformative process, which brings economic development, social stability, great opportunities and security. As we work together for this European future, we should better capitalize on summits such as this, in order to coordinate our efforts and stand united”, Nicuşor Dan also said.
The president also attended a trilateral meeting Romania – Republic of Moldova – Ukraine, during which he discussed with his counterparts, Maia Sandu and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, about the most important interconnection projects, especially the energy infrastructure, the EU accession process and security cooperation. The summit in Odesa was attended by 11 heads of state, government or Parliament leaders from Romania, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Greece. (VP)
