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The importance of continuing NATO's adjustment process to the current security challenges in a comprehensive manner, as regards the Alliance's Eastern flank included, was pinpointed on Tuesday by the Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister Teodor Melescanu, at the meetings of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Brussels, a release by the relevant ministry informs.
The working sessions started with a meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers with their counterparts from Georgia and Ukraine dedicated to the Black Sea security situation, this being the second meeting in this format in 2018, after the one in July's high-level Summit.
Teodor Melescanu stressed the need to strengthen the NATO role in the Black Sea region, restated the commitment and support to the two partner states, backing NATO's decision to continue a substantial pledge as regards the political dialogue and the practical cooperation with Georgia and Ukraine.
The Romanian chief diplomat emphasized the importance of furthering the adjustment process of the North-Atlantic Alliance to the current security challenges, in a comprehensive manner, as regards NATO's Eastern Flank, included. He voiced support for the ministerial declaration, adopted at the meeting, of NATO's solidarity with the USA regarding Washington's conclusion regarding the violation by the Russian Federation of the Intergovernmental Nuclear Force Treaty (INF), the release reads.
The minister also underlined the importance to ensure the complementarity of the projects unfolded in the EU in the security and defence sectors with those developed within NATO, mentioning the attention to be granted to the enhancement of the NATO-EU synergy during the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union held by Romania as of 1 January 2019.
On the sidelines of the meeting, the Romanian chief diplomat had a series of bilateral talks with counterparts from NATO allied and partner states. Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and Teodor Melescanu discussed about aspects on the cooperation between Romania and Canada within NATO, the Romanian minister thanking for the contribution of Canada to the tailored forward presence in Romania, in particular in the air police field. They have also addressed aspects regarding the cooperation between the two states within the United Nations and the peace-keeping operations, as well as bilaterally.
In a bilateral talk with the chief diplomat of the Macedonian gov't, Nikola Dimitrov, Teodor Melescanu addressed the stage and the perspectives of implementing the Prespa Agreement and the efforts of the Skopje authorities to integrate within NATO. Minister Dimitrov thanked for Romania's ceaseless support to his country's efforts to integrate within NATO and the EU.
Teodor Melescanu and his Georgian counterpart David Zalkaliani had an exchange of opinions on the Black Sea regional security developments and the efforts of the Tbilisi authorities to integrate within NATO. Minister Melescanu reasserted Romania's constant and palpable support for the Georgian side's efforts, also tackling the possibilities to consolidate the bilateral cooperation between the two countries, from the regional outlook included, the MAE release reads.
