European Union readies civilian mission focusing on security sector in Moldova, says Bogdan Aurescu
Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu had bilateral political consultations with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis on Monday during his official visit to Vilnius, where the Romanian diplomat reaffirmed that the EU was preparing a civilian mission under the aegis of the Common Security and Defence Policy focusing on the security sector in the Republic of Moldova, reports caleaeuropeană.ro.
A central topic of the discussions was to counter the effects of the war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine. The two ministers strongly condemned the actions of the Russian Federation and assessed the prospects of this conflict. Minister Bogdan Aurescu presented Romania's consistent multidimensional support for Ukraine. At the same time, they discussed ways of involvement in the future reconstruction process.
Concerning the impact of the war on NATO's Eastern Flank, Minister Bogdan Aurescu highlighted the priorities pursued by Romania at the Alliance Summit to be organised by Lithuania in July 2023, stressing the importance of implementing all the allied decisions taken in Madrid to strengthen NATO's deterrence and defence posture.
The impact of the war on other states in the region was assessed, with a focus on the Republic of Moldova, in which context the head of Romanian diplomacy stressed the need to strengthen the resilience and security of this state, including in the context of Russia's destabilising actions. The two officials reconfirmed their active support for the European Union's enlargement process, including for the Eastern partners, as this is the only solid option for long-term peace, stability and prosperity.
"The EU is preparing a civilian mission focusing on the security sector in the Republic of Moldova. I think it is also important that the Republic of Moldova is now cooperating more closely with NATO on the Defence Capability Enhancement Programme, which provides support for building a more effective defence sector in the Republic of Moldova. And I mentioned the proposal to have a sanctions regime dedicated to the situation in the Republic of Moldova, to counter, let's say, attempts to destabilise the Republic and also to undermine the constitutional order and the rule of law in the Republic of Moldova," Bogdan Aurescu added.
"We fully agree that more efforts are needed to strengthen NATO's Eastern flank and to support Ukraine and Moldova on their chosen path of EU integration", added Gabrielius Landsbergis.
