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Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu had a telephone conversation with French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian on Thursday about the worsened regional security situation in the context of "illegal" and "unjustified" military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE), through a press release sent to AGERPRES.
According to the MAE, the Romanian and French diplomats "condemned Russia's actions in the strongest terms, as they represent a flagrant violation of the principles of international law, especially of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, in the continuation of the reprehensible recognition by the Russian Federation of the "independence" of the self-proclaimed separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, parts of Ukraine."
On the same occasion, Minister Aurescu reiterated his strong support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, while underscoring the need to continue efforts to support Kiev and the other partners in the region, especially the Republic of Moldova, which are states whose resilience needs to be further strengthened, including in the context of the negative effects of the current crisis.
At the same time, Bogdan Aurescu reiterated to the French counterpart the need for the entire international community to sanction Russia "firmly," "immediately" and of a "coordinated" manner, in response to the "flagrant" violation of the international law and unprecedented escalation of tensions, Agerpres.ro informs.
With regard to the security situation in the Black Sea region, the two ministers reiterated the importance of further strengthening NATO's defence and deterrence stance in the region. They discussed the need to strengthen, in a coherent and united manner, the allied position of deterrence and defence on the Eastern Flank, including on its southern part, at the Black Sea.
Jean-Yves Le Drian reiterated Paris' strong support for the creation of the NATO Combat Group in Romania, in which France will play the role of host nation.
Romanian and French officials underscored the need to speed up the process of setting up this fighting group, as a measure to further strengthen NATO's deterrent and defence stance in the region.
Minister Le Drian appreciated Romania's firm position on the current developments in its neighbourhood, the importance that Romania has for security in the Black Sea region and throughout the Euro-Atlantic area, and reaffirmed its strong support for the principle of collective defence.
