Romania unequivocally supports independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine – Nicolae-Miroslav Petretchi

“Romania unequivocally supports the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine”, Nicolae-Miroslav Petretchi, Member of Parliament of Romania and the President of the Union of Ukrainians in Romania, stressed at 10^th Kyiv Security Forum held by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation Open Ukraine.

According to the Romanian Member of Parliament, his country supports the settlement of the situation in the Donbas and regards the Minsk agreements as the main way to this. Additionally, the Bucharest supports the European choice of the Ukrainian people.

“Eastern Europe is the region is the constant place of the clash between the European model of development and the influence of the Russian Federation. Ukraine has freely chosen its path to Europe, but this way is not possible without challenges in the implementation of the reforms”, he added.

Nicolae-Miroslav Petretchi stressed that currently the Ukrainian-Romanian relations were strengthening, and the countries were discussing the solutions to common problems. In his opinion, the participation of foreign ministers of the two countries at the opening ceremony of the portrait sculpture of Taras Shevchenko at the Romanian-Ukrainian in October 2016 border was a demonstrative step.

He also noted the importance of ensuring the rights of national minorities in bilateral relations, and elaborated on the system that functioned in his country: “Romania protects minorities; the state provides seats in Parliament for representatives of ethnic minorities that are guaranteed by the Constitution. The participation of the national minorities in the political process through MPs and at the governmental level in the social, economic and cultural life has a positive effect on the Romanian society”.

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Kyiv Security Forum was launched by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation Open Ukraine in 2007 is an annual international event to high-level discussions on the current issues in the Black Sea region and wider Europe. The Forum aims at increasing security cooperation between the EU and the Black Sea region, raising awareness about regional developments among key regional players, promoting the role of independent and non-governmental actors in setting the security agenda in Europe.