NATO. The foreign ministers of France and The Netherlands, Catherine Colonna and Wopke Hoekstra, on Friday travelled to Cincu, in central Romania, together with their Romanian counterpart Bogdan Aurescu, to visit the training centre where French and Dutch troops are stationed as part of a NATO battlegroup. The visit again demonstrates the very good cooperation between Romanian and both of these states at a bilateral, European and NATO level, as well as the efficient three-party interaction between Bucharest, Paris and The Hague, said the Romanian minister. At a joint press conference held by the three foreign ministers, the Dutch official said his country would support Romania with respect to Schengen accession and spoke about the country’s remarkable progress in this regard; while the French minister spoke about the challenges faced by Europe and about intensifying support for Ukraine. The foreign officials also held talks with president Klaus Iohannis and prime minister Nicolae Ciucă.
Mines. The Chief of Staff of the Romanian Naval Forces urged navigators in the Black Sea or near the coast to notify the authorities if they spot suspicious floating objects. The call was launched as sea storms are expected in the coming days and after the discovery of a sea mine on the Romanian beach on Thursday. Navy divers said it was the first time this type of mine was washed ashore the Romanian coast. The device in question was a YaM-type blast mine used by both Ukrainian and Russian navies and the fifth to be discovered since the start of the war in Ukraine in the area of responsibility of the Romanian Navy.
