Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu had a discussion on Tuesday with his counterpart from the Republic of North Macedonia, Bujar Osmani, in his capacity as Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), on the sidelines of the meeting of NATO foreign ministers which he is attending on 4 and 5 April at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, informs a press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE).
The two officials addressed issues related to the work of the OSCE, in the context of the Republic of North Macedonia's Chairpersonship-in-Office, at a complex time that the organization is going through, following the Russian military aggression against Ukraine.
The head of the Romanian diplomacy reiterated Romania's full support for the priorities of the OSCE Chairpersonship mandate, including by Romania's assumption of the Chairpersonship of the OSCE Security Committee in 2023.
At the same time, Minister Aurescu reaffirmed Romania's support for strengthening the role of the OSCE in Ukraine by continuing the projects already initiated by the organisation.
"The discussions between the two dignitaries also focused on ways to support the Republic of Moldova through the use of OSCE instruments, with emphasis on countering destabilising actions, combating propaganda and other hybrid threats and increasing resilience. At the request of his Macedonian counterpart, Minister Aurescu presented his assessment in this regard, as well as on the state of play of the Transnistrian file," the press release reads.
The head of Romanian diplomacy also reiterated the need for the mandate of the OSCE Mission to Moldova to be extended, in order to ensure efficient OSCE activity in the country.
According to the MAE, in order to support OSCE projects to strengthen the resilience of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, Romania has a voluntary contribution to the Organization's budget of 400,000 euros, 200,000 euros for support programmes dedicated to each of the two states.
In his turn, Minister Bujar Osmani thanked Romania for its contribution and support in exercising the mandate of OSCE Chairpersonship-in-Office, for its involvement in the organization, as well as for Romania's Chairpersonship of the OSCE Security Committee. AGERPRES