DEFENCE

Romania’s defence minister Angel Tîlvăr and the chief of general staff Daniel Petrescu Tuesday took part in a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, held in Brussels on the sidelines of the meeting of NATO defence ministers. According to the Romanian defence ministry, since the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, Romania has provided shelter and aid to over 3.5 million Ukrainian nationals who have transited the country, and has taken part in facilitating the transit of nearly 12 million tonnes of grains from Ukraine to global markets. Romania has stated repeatedly that the scope and regularity of the support given to Ukraine must be maintained. Also on the sidelines of the meeting of NATO defence ministers, Angel Tîlvăr had bilateral talks with his counterparts from the UK, Ben Wallace, and Spain, Margarita Robles Fernandez. They discussed the security situation in the Black Sea region and emphasised the need for substantial Allied contribution to ensuring the effectiveness and credibility of NATO’s defence posture on the eastern flank.