President Klaus Iohannis will advocate for the opening of EU accession negotiations with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova at the European Council summit in December, he said during an official visit to Bucharest from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday.
Zelenskyy went to discuss support for Ukraine and to sign a joint declaration on a Strategic Partnership between the two countries.
During their talks, Iohannis assured President Zelenskyy of Romania and Romanian society’s determination to continue supporting Ukraine and its people “as long as it takes until the victory against Russian aggression, until the liberation of the entire territory”.
The aggression against Ukraine shows that “Russia remains the main security threat in both the European continent and the Black Sea region”, Iohannis said.
Zelenskyy sought further military support, but he refused to give specific details. He only said that the discussions with Iohannis focused on anti-aircraft defence systems.
Iohannis reiterated Romania’s political and practical support for the EU accession talks.
“I will personally plead for this decision at the European Council in December. This decision will confirm the progress made by Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova despite tough conditions. It is also a strategic decision for the European Union”, the Romanian President said.
The two leaders also addressed facilitating Ukrainian grain exports to global markets.
“We will make every effort to continue supporting Ukraine but also to meet the legitimate expectations of Romanian farmers”, said Iohannis.
Iohannis and Zelenskyy also discussed the protection of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities, a topic of concern for Romania due to Ukrainian legislation regarding education in minority languages.
The Ukrainian president was scheduled to deliver a speech in parliament. However, the speech was cancelled on Tuesday morning due to protests by extremist lawmakers.
Asked about this change of schedule, Zelenskyy claimed that he had not prepared any speech.
While Zelenskyy held talks with the two leaders of the parliament, the independent senator Diana Şoşoacă presented a map of Romania that included former Romanian territories now part of Ukraine. She demanded the return of these territories to Romania. Known for her pro-Russian stance, Sosoacă referred to Zelenskyy as a Nazi.
(Cătălina Mihai, Sebastian Rotaru | Euractiv.ro)
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