Minister of Foreign Affairs Bogdan Aurescu met on Monday in Brussels with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias, on the sidelines of the Foreign Affairs Council meeting; the two top diplomats discussed the contribution of the Romanian firemen to containing the recent wildfires in Greece, with the Greek side extending thanks, the Foreign Ministry said in a release.
The two Foreign Ministers also tackled regional aspects of interest, particularly developments in Ukraine following the Russian Federation's unlawful, unjustified and unprovoked military aggression against Ukraine, with emphasis on its regional and European consequences and implications, and on outlooks. Stress was laid on the importance of ensuring energy security, an area where Romania and Greece have converging interests and approaches.
Bogdan Aurescu welcomed the strengthening of the relevant bilateral dialogue and cooperation, referring to the commissioning, on July 8, of the Greece-Bulgaria natural gas interconnector (GBI), an important goal in the process of reinforcing the energy security of the countries in the region. The two Foreign Ministers agreed to continue bilateral energy cooperation, given the need to further develop energy interconnections to counter the consequences of the Russian Federation's aggression against Ukraine, Agerpres.ro informs.
The Romanian Minister presented the stage of the steps and actions undertaken in order to facilitate the export through Romania of as large as possible amounts of Ukrainian grains.
The two chief diplomats also examined in detail several other regional developments, with the Greek Foreign Minister reiterating the concern of the authorities in his country regarding the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean. In its turn, the Romanian side presented its own assessment, emphasizing the importance of maintaining regional stability, especially in the current context generated by Russia's war against Ukraine.