The latest security developments in the region and the armed conflict in Ukraine were among the topics approached in the telephone call on Tuesday of Foreign Affairs Minister, Bogdan Aurescu with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
According to a release of the Romanian Foreign Affairs Ministry sent, on Tuesday, to AGERPRES, the Pakistani ministry showed particular appreciation for Romania's demarches to manage the flow at the border of Ukrainian civilians and citizens of other states. He was particularly grateful for Romania's support in facilitating the safe evacuation of Pakistani citizens from Ukraine, since the beginning of the crisis and until now, over 300 Pakistani citizens crossing the border between Ukraine and Romania, including diplomats and representatives of the Embassy of Pakistan in Kyiv, Agerpres.ro informs.
The two officials agreed to continue the tight operative coordination between the Romanian and Pakistani authorities for the safe transit of Pakistani citizens on Romanian territory.
Minister Aurescu condemned in the firmest terms the military aggression of Russia on Ukraine, as a flagrant, repeated breach of the principles of international law, especially the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, as a continuation of the action of illegal recognition by the Russian Federation of the "independence" of the self-proclaimed separatist republics in Donetsk and Luhansk, component parts of Ukraine.
Aurescu reiterated the fact that, in the opinion of the Romanian party, it is very difficult to conduct negotiations between parties at the same time with continuing and even intensifying the use of armed force and expressed the hope that, in the following stage, there will be from the Russian party a real desire for dialogue that would lead to the end of aggression and the cessation of loss of human life.
During the phone call, the head of Romanian diplomacy emphasized the need for the entire international community to firmly sanction the actions of the Russian Federation, in a coordinated manner, showing that the sanctions already decided upon have started to produce effects.