Nearly two years ago, when Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, ordered his troops to invade Ukraine, Romania immediately expressed solidarity with its neighbor. Over seven million Ukrainian citizens fled the country, crossing the Romanian border. Most of them went on to travel to countries in Western Europe, although approximately one hundred thousand chose to stay. Last year, the port of Constanța reported the largest volume of processed goods – 92.5 mln tons, accounting for a 22.5% increase compared to 2022. Of these, over 14 mln tons were Ukrainian grain and products from Ukraine, a country whose maritime and river ports have long been subject to Russian bombings and blockades. Overall, Bucharest remains one of the most consistent supporters of Kyiv in diplomatic, political, logistic and humanitarian terms. Things won’t change in 2024. Romania’s Foreign Minister, Luminița Odobescu, again condemned Russia’s war of aggression and reiterated Romania’s firm support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum hosted by Davos. The Romanian official highlighted the risks Russian attacks targeting Ukrainian citizens and infrastructure also pose for regional security. Romania is an active presence at regional and EU level, Luminița Odobescu told Radio Romania.
„Our active involvement in the enlargement process, not only with partners from the Western Balkans, but also from the Eastern Partnership, remains a priority on our agenda. A number of leaders from the Balkans and Eastern Europe attended the proceedings. We’ve talked and discussed future steps in terms of EU rapprochement. Romania is actively involved not only in terms of political support, but also in terms of diplomatic action it undertakes to support and prepare the administration, to adopt legislation for various reforms”.
Also this week, Romania’s Defense Minister Angel Tîlvăr had a videoconference call with his counterpart from Ukraine, Rustem Umerov. „I have assured Minister Umerov Romania strongly condemns the Russian aggression, the attacks on the civilian population and infrastructure, actions that have intensified in recent weeks. Romania continues to support Ukraine alongside its allies and partners”, Minister Tîlvăr went on to say. The two officials also discussed concrete measures to consolidate bilateral cooperation in the field of defense, with a focus on training Romanian and Ukrainian pilots at the F-16 European Training Center in Romania. (Bogdan Matei, Radio Romania International)
