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The possibility of adopting new sanctions represents the EU's contribution to deterring future aggressive actions from Russia, Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said on Thursday before the informal meeting of EU foreign ministers (Gymnich), which takes place on Thursday and Friday in Brest.
"Today we will also discuss the role of the EU in this situation and what the EU can do to help de-escalate things. The EU can be united, and this is the most important issue I will emphasize today, and I believe that the EU can move forward with the planning of new sanctions to be adopted in case of need, for I believe that the possibility of having such new sanctions adopted represents EU's contribution to deterring future aggressions from Russia," said the head of the Romanian diplomacy.
He added that "for Romania, the most important issue on the agenda is the security situation in our eastern neighbourhood and I will present my country's stand with respect to the recent developments."
In this context, Bogdan Aurescu mentioned the US-Russia meetings, the NATO-Russia Council and the OSCE talks on this topic.
"During these meetings we expressed our position that the security architecture in Europe should be maintained and we rejected the proposals put forward by Russia, which were considered unacceptable, and we reaffirmed NATO's values and foundations. The purpose of these meetings was to find ways to de-escalate the situation and to find ways and means to improve the security situation in this region and in Europe as a whole. The ball is now in Russia's hands and we have to wait and see what is the Russian's side conclusion after this dialogue, which took place during these meetings, through the week," the Minister said.
Aurescu also said that at the Brest meeting he will underscore "the need to support the resilience of Ukraine and other partners in the eastern neighbourhood and the need for the European Union to get more involved in resolving protracted conflicts in this area., Agerpres informs.
