Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu on Saturday met with his French counterpart, Catherine Colonna, during a technical stopover in Romania of the plane taking French President Emmanuel Macron back home from his visit to China. According to a release by the Romanian Foreign Ministry, Minister Colonna presented Bogdan Aurescu the results of the talks in Beijing, with an emphasis on China’s stand as regards Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The two officials also talked about the security situation generated by the Russian aggression and the preparation of the allied summit in Vilnius, due in July 2023. Also discussed were the joint measures taken by the two countries to support the Republic of Moldova, the second most affected country by Russia’s aggression, after Ukraine. Aurescu pleaded, among others, for the enhancement from battalion size to brigade size of the NATO battlegroup deployed to Romania, under French command. Moreover, he hailed France’s active support for Romania’s Schengen accession.
