Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca on Friday said Romania, together with Western strategic partners, is determined to support Ukraine as long as necessary, told Agerpres.
The Romanian Prime Minister attended the event "Romania - 1 year of solidarity with Ukraine," organised by the Romanian Government together with UNHCR and UN agencies in Romania.
At the beginning of his speech, the Prime Minister proposed to the participants to keep a moment of silence for 'the victims of the odious conflict in Ukraine'.
"Today unfortunately marks one year since Russia invaded Ukraine, unleashing a terrible war on the territory of this country. A sovereign and independent state is being attacked in the most direct and horrible way, namely by war and armed attack. In a single day, international order and laws have been trampled by a state that does not respect democracy or the values of the free world. A state that builds its relations with neighbouring countries on an imperial attitude, an attitude that has no place in the 21st century. Russia has reserved the right to invade a country, to kill its civilian population and to destroy its infrastructure, schools, kindergartens, hospitals, roads, energy system. Entire cities have been wiped off the face of the earth on the basis of an illusory and abusive argument, namely the historical right to control territory. This criminal and arbitrary behaviour has shown that the power in Moscow not only despises the choice of states to elect their own future, but that it is a direct threat to the entire free world," Nicolae Ciuca said.
He added that, by its "criminal and arbitrary" behaviour, Moscow's power has shown "not only that it despises the choice of states to elect their own future, but also that it is a direct threat to the entire free world".
"And the free world has taken a stand. The free world refused to remove Ukraine from the world map and today we are talking about the huge strategic failure of the power in Moscow. (...) Russia's political and military leadership misjudged the ability of Western states to unite and Ukraine's will to defend its desire of being part of the free world. Russia has misjudged the strength of democratic values and, more importantly, the humanity and strength of the people who believe in these values," said Ciuca.
The Prime Minister stressed that Romania's position has been very clear since the beginning of the Russian invasion and remains firm, that of full solidarity with NATO and EU partners, plus strong support for Ukraine in countering aggression.
"Our society, institutions and non-governmental organisations have simply responded quickly and effectively. Just as Romanians have always been empathetic and responsive throughout our history, we have reacted in the same way and will continue to help the Ukrainian people and state with the same energy," said Ciuca.
The Prime Minister pointed out that Romania has succeeded, both at the governmental level and at the level of society as a whole, to provide important humanitarian assistance to the more than 3.6 million Ukrainian refugees who have crossed the country's borders in the last 12 months, of whom 2.5 million have benefited from direct support from the Government or international partners.
At the same time, he underlined the support for the integration of more than 111,000 Ukrainian citizens who have settled in Romania during this period and who benefit from free accommodation, meals, transport, education, medical and social services in Romania.
He also mentioned that 74 international humanitarian support missions to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova have been carried out through the Suceava hub, while similar humanitarian support actions have been carried out by the Government and local authorities.
The Prime Minister also mentioned that Romania is the reliable European and international partner that offers the most important international support corridors for Ukraine, providing its national infrastructure: road, rail, river and sea, to facilitate the transport and transit of Ukrainian grain and other goods to international markets.
He also mentioned another dimension of support for Ukraine, namely in the energy sector - at the initiative of Romania, the Romania-Ukraine-Republic of Moldova Trilateral was created, with the aim of cooperation in this area among the three countries.
He also referred to the support for the European course of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, as well as to the support for the sanctions applied to Russia at the international level, including through the creation of a mechanism to hold accountable those responsible for the atrocities committed in Russia's illegal war against Ukraine.
"Our engagement and solidarity with Western states will continue. It is the responsibility of Western states to stop the actions of the Kremlin, which threaten not only Ukraine, but the entire free world," said Ciuca.
In this context, the Prime Minister also drew attention to the danger posed by the Russian-backed information war.
"Through this hybrid war, Russia hopes to divide Western societies and make them weaker. So let us beware of political extremism and the undermining of democratic values. This could unfortunately be the gateway for Russian interests in Europe, and Romania is no exception, being a target of Kremlin's hybrid war. This is why solidarity and unity of Romanian society are crucial in these times. At the same time, the stability of the government is an essential factor for the strengthened response of our country to the threats in the region and for supporting Ukraine's choice to be part of the free world," he added.
At the end of his speech, the Prime Minister conveyed Romania's support to the Ukrainian people and leaders in Kyiv.
"My message to the families that we are hosting today in Romania is: here, today, you are welcome, you are protected as long as you need it! Also, my message to the leadership in Kyiv, to the civilian population and to the brave fighters who are defending the whole free world today is: we are by your side as long as it takes!," said Ciuca.
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