Volodymyr Zelenskyy has unwillingly become, under dramatic circumstances, a star on the global political stage. For this reason, his visits to countries in the democratic bloc that have been standing by Ukraine in its response to Russian aggression, are very important events. On Tuesday, Zelenskyy paid his first visit to Bucharest since the start of the war in his country, during which he was given assurances that Romania will support Ukraine for as long as needed. Supporting Ukraine, the Romanian President said, is a strategic interest of Romania. Klaus Iohannis: “I have assured President Zelenskyy today of the determination of Romania and the Romanian nation to continue multidimensional and consistent support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, including the military one, for as long as it takes, until victory against Russian aggression, the liberation of the entire territory, accountability of all those guilty of the crimes committed and, further, in the country’s recovery and rebuilding process.”
Klaus Iohannis has condemned, once more, Russia’s repeated attacks on Ukrainian port infrastructure, in Romania’s vicinity, and reaffirmed his country’s commitment to facilitating the export of Ukrainian grain to global markets. Iohannis also said Ukraine and Moldova have Romania’s political support to open accession negotiations with the EU by the end of the year.
A key moment of the visit was the signing, by the two leaders, of a political declaration elevating bilateral relations to the level of strategic partnership. The Ukrainian President thanked Romania for the military and humanitarian support granted to his country at a very difficult time. He summarized the topics discussed with his Romanian counterpart. We discussed about security at the Black Sea and supporting peace, about infrastructure and opening new border checkpoints and about national minorities, Zelenskyy said. Also discussed, was speeding up the training of Ukrainian pilots in Romania, so that they can be sent to the battlefield as soon as possible and also the military support requested by Ukraine, Zelenskyy also said.
The Ukrainian President also met with the speakers of the two Parliament chambers and with PM Marcel Ciolacu, the latter agreeing to speed up infrastructure projects so as to double the transit capacity through Romanian ports. (Ștefan Stoica, Radio Romania International)
