Romania's FM to ask colleagues for more support for Moldova, Georgia at NATO ministers' meeting
“We have to adapt the posture to the reality, which shows that the Russians troops are in Ukraine and in Belarus, so we need to rethink everything,” the Foreign Minister noted. Photo: Denes Albert
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Bogdan Aurescu, Romania's Foreign Minister, said he will ask his counterparts for more support for partner states, “especially the Republic of Moldova and Georgia”, as the official arrived at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels on Friday.
Aurescu said “NATO must adapt [the] military posture at its eastern flank to [the] new reality after Russia's invasion of Ukraine,” without spelling out if he wanted permanent presence of allied troops there.
“We have to adapt the posture to the reality, which shows that the Russians troops are in Ukraine and in Belarus, so we need to rethink everything,” the Foreign Minister noted.
Romania will increase its defence spending to 2.5 percent from 2 percent of its GDP starting with the next fiscal year, Aurescu also said.
Georgia finds itself in an “extraordinary situation” due to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said on Friday, with the official highlighting the relevance of the conflict to questions of Georgia’s security.
The ongoing Russian military aggression in Ukraine, and the security situation in the Black Sea region, were discussed by Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani and Michael McCaul, the Co-Chair of the United States House Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken told Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Thursday his country would continue to support Georgia in its Euro-Atlantic integration aspirations.
"Slovenia supports EU membership for Georgia," Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša wrote on Twitter on Thursday, as the Georgian government officially applied for European Union membership for the country.
“The European path is an irreversible choice of the Georgian people,” Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili said on Thursday as the country officially applied for European Union membership.
A meeting between foreign ministers of NATO on Friday discussed the alliance’s need to support partners like Georgia who face risks due to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a briefing in Brussels.
Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani commented on Sunday on Georgia’s European Union membership prospects, stressing the country must do its best and use the opportunity to receive EU candidate status.
Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova deserve “European family membership” to an equal degree, Bogdan Aurescu, Romania's Foreign Minister, said before a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.
The Moldovan Government remains “in touch” with “our friends and colleagues” in Georgia and Ukraine as the three states proceed on their recent bids to join the European Union, Nicu Popescu, Moldova's Foreign Minister, said before a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.
Georgian president Salome Zourabichvili, who is on her first official visit to Romania, is set to sign a declaration on the establishment of strategic relations with the country, Nikoloz Nikolozishvili, the Georgian ambassador to Romania, said on Tuesday.
Romania will allocate $1,4 million to NATO funds dedicated to strengthening the resilience of defence capabilities of Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and Jordan, the Romanian foreign office said on Monday.