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The former Minister of Foreign Affairs Adrian Cioroianu believes that the upcoming meeting of the heads of diplomacy from NATO member states represents the most important event of recent years, the meeting providing the opportunity for a new confirmation of Romania's position, of the stability and predictability of Romanian diplomacy, told Agerpres.
"It is probably the most important event of many years so far and the presence of the foreign ministers and the topics that will be discussed, without a doubt, are directly related to the crisis situation in Ukraine, following the Russian aggression. I think that Romania's role is also emphasised by its position as a neighbour that supported the Western world's sanctions against Russia, as a country that supported Ukraine in the first place, including through the large number of refugees it took in. I think there will be substantive discussions and a good opportunity for allies to harmonize their positions, especially since practically every day brings something new. We have seen in this crisis from missiles falling on the territory of third countries to various protocol incidents, such as the one that the Polish Prime Minister went through, or Prime Minister Orban's scarf," Adrian Cioroianu declared for AGERPRES.
In his opinion, the invitation to the Bucharest meeting of countries such as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Georgia, Finland, Sweden and Bosnia and Herzegovina, some of which expressed their desire to be part of the North Atlantic Alliance, was based on "very well weighed reasons".
"Certainly, these invitations are based on very well-considered reasons and, in the last instance, it is about countries that, for the most part, they themselves want to increase their security. Or, at the moment, the NATO Alliance is the best guarantee of security, given the turbulent times we are witnessing and the unpredictable behaviour of countries like Russia, which are also members of the Security Council and which have violated all international norms. So, inviting these countries is in their interest as well as in the interest of security and the strategic plans of the Alliance as such," Cioroianu added.
The former foreign minister believes that we are facing a multi-layered crisis, from the energy crisis to the food, climate or political crisis, and although NATO does not have a "magic solution", a common strategy in approach can only be to our advantage.
"There are no miracle solutions, especially since we are witnessing a multi-layered crisis. There is indeed an energy crisis, but it is superimposed on a food crisis, as we saw with the blocking of those Ukrainian grain exports for many months, a climate crisis, equally, because in Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, but also in our country and in many other countries, it was a rather dry year. We are also witnessing a political crisis, we see what is happening in the Republic of Moldova, in the present moment, or in countries of the Alliance, such as Italy, the result of some elections, sometimes surprising, in some countries of the Alliance, or in Great Britain, if we refer to the political crisis it went through. So, we see that it is a crisis on several levels, and NATO, of course, does not have a magic solution for any of them, but, on the other hand, a common strategy in approaching them can only be to our advantage. And, always, the solution is easier to find when several people exchange opinions and propose ideas. Any talk on this topic is a step in the good direction," Cioroianu pointed out.
Adrian Cioroianu believes that solving the Transnistrian problem is a decision of the Republic of Moldova, assuming the agreement of this state, no matter what happens, following the war in Ukraine, but things will be clearer after an armistice is agreed.
"It's hard to say, for now, because, definitively, it's a decision of the Republic of Moldova, no matter what happens, this presupposes, mainly, the agreement of the Republic of Moldova. For now, all the states that will be present at these discussions support the territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova, but, on the other hand, this conflict, which, for the time being, we do not know how it will end, we do not know what a victory for one of the parties could mean. The conflict is ongoing at the time we speak and it is clear that this will change something of the rather precarious balance in the east of the Republic of Moldova and we will ultimately see what will happen. But things will be clearer after an armistice is agreed upon. Unfortunately, when will that happen it's hard to guess now," the historian opined.
The former minister mentioned that, before the recent G20 meeting, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, was "presented" with a possible plan to open discussions with a view to an armistice.
"Things have already been public for a few days now. We don't know the country that submitted them, but probably that plan for discussions with a view to the armistice was the result of the collaboration of several states, most probably including Western states. In the last ditch, we used especially the word armistice and not peace, because now the essential thing would be to stop the hostilities and destruction in Ukraine. Peace is a bit more distant horizon, but at least an armistice would lead to the saving of human lives on both sides. This is clear. Regarding the role that Romania could play here, of course, in the end, nothing is impossible, but, equally, Romania cannot propose itself as a mediator, because, obviously, we have been the partisans of Ukraine until now. So we cannot propose ourselves as mediators and we cannot be mediators between Ukraine and Russia as long as we chose to support Ukraine and condemn Russia, but our role could intervene later, in a reconstruction of Ukraine, to which, for sure, many European countries will contribute, and we, through the position we have, will be a part of this effort to reconstruct the neighbouring country," Cioroianu elaborated.
He stressed that the organization of the Bucharest meeting will represent "a confirmation of our position, of the stability and predictability of the Romanian diplomacy".
"In our country, diplomacy has been criticized quite often, but what some of us find more difficult to accept is the fact that diplomacy is not always visible. That is, diplomacy does not have to be spectacular, diplomacy has to be effective. Or, from this point of view, knowing the system from the inside, I am convinced that, despite all the criticisms, our diplomacy remains quite effective. Of course, we should not brag now and talk about the organization of this summit as being due to the attraction that, definitely, Romania would exercise. There were also reasons regarding the choice of our country, but I think that, on the other hand, Romania also offers the landscape of a country that, equally, behaves like a good member of the European Union, but also as a reliable partner of the North Atlantic Alliance and as a partner of the United States in the area. It is a characteristic. Like it or not, it is something that cannot be denied. And I think that what Romania clearly gains these days is the confirmation of the efforts we made in foreshadowing this predictability. I think that no one has any doubts about Romania's behaviour and that is the basis of seriousness in diplomacy, predictability, so that your allies know what they can expect from you," the former head of Romanian diplomacy said.
Cioroianu expressed his hope that any incidents would not occur during the smooth running of the meeting.
"Let's hope we don't have incidents. Of course incidents can happen, whether provoked or not, but let's hope we don't. I'm also thinking about the possibility of cyber attacks these days ... There's a lot of bullying going on nowadays. I saw what happened recently in the Czech Republic, in other countries. I am afraid of these things, otherwise I am convinced that the organization will be very good. We already have a tradition in organizing such meetings and I think that its scale, even if it is, as I said, without precedent in recent years, on the other hand, the simple presence of important people, from Antony Blinken to all the others, today gives more weight to the meeting and, I repeat, I am convinced that there will be substantial discussions," Adrian Cioroianu concluded.
