Romania’s Foreign Minister supports Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic future

Romania is voicing its strong support for Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic future and is pledging to continue this support, provided Georgia adheres to its obligations noted in agreements with the European Union (EU) and NATO.

The Foreign Minister of Romania, Bogdan Aurescu, made his statement today after meeting Georgian officials, as part of his two-day official visit to Georgia.

On our part we support Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration and reiterate this support in our relations with every member state of the European Union,” he told media at a joint press conference after meeting his Georgian counterpart Tamar Beruchashvili.

Georgia actively cooperates with NATO, we support Georgia integration with NATO and we will do our best to ensure that Georgia successfully implements the measures worked out at the Wales Summit,” he said.

At his meeting with Beruchashvili, special attention was paid to the forthcoming Eastern Partnership Summit in Riga.

The Riga Summit is an event of paramount importance where all achievements and challenges of the Eastern Partnership Policy will be assessed and it is the goal of Georgia to serve as a success story of European transformation for other Eastern Partnership countries,” Beruchashvili said.

She thanks Aurescu for his active involvement as Georgia implemented the Substantial Package adopted at last year’s NATO Summit in Wales, as well as for the activities of the Romanian Embassy as NATO’s liaison Embassy in Georgia.

When Aurescu met the State Minister of Georgia on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, David Bakradze, today, Georgia’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration was top on the agenda.

The Romanian official highlighted Georgia’s progress as it implementedthe Visa Liberalisation Action Plan (VLAP), and discussed expectations of the upcoming Eastern Partnership Summit.

The pair also talked about the security challenges in the region, while Bakradze spoke about the threats and impacts of the so-called"Alliance and Strategic Partnership" deal between Russia and the de-facto government of occupied Abkhazia.

The importance of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM) was highly underscored at the meeting. Georgia’s State Minister expressed gratitude to the Romanian side for their contribution to the Mission.

The Republic of Romania is a close partner of Georgia. Romania was the first country to ratify the Association Agreement with Georgia and it also has the largest representation in the EUMM. It is an important country that supports Georgia's European and Euro-Atlantic integration,” Bakradze said.

Consequently, we discussed the significant progress demonstrated by Georgia within the framework of the Substantial Package with NATO, implementation of the Association Agreement, including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, as well as future cooperation and sharing of experience, which Georgia might learn from Romania on its path toward integration."

In response, the Romanian official confirmed his country’s readiness to assist Georgia and share its experience of European integration and enhancing the country’s communication strategy.