The Minister of Defense informs the millions of Romanians throughout the country about a worrying situation related to the war in Ukraine, and this is because our country is watching carefully what is happening from the point of view of Russia's advances towards the mouths of the Danube, but also Republic of Moldova.
The Minister of Defense states that he is watching carefully what is happening in this situation, but that for now we do not have to fear any armed conflict in the Republic of Moldova, the chances being small, the country still needs humanitarian support, but also for European integration during this period.
"Sure it is not a prospect that will leave us cold, or that will make us calm, but there are few chances, as the president of Romania said, to see a conflict in this area, the mouths of the Danube, or the Republic of Moldova. I think that the need that Moldova has now is humanitarian aid and aid for European integration.
This is the most important thing, less than military aid at this moment, because there is no military aggression. On the other hand, the fact that Russia is close to the mouths of the Danube, and if we think about the possible development towards Odesa, and from there, anyway it is on the Island of Serpilor, and the battle has not yet been settled there, there are 22 nautical miles to the border maritime of Romania.
It means that our security interests in the Black Sea are affected at the moment, and obviously we are worried, and this obviously puts us in a position to discuss... I went with several defense ministers to Mihail Kogalniceanu, most of them from Great Britain , Belgium, Holland, Germany, Italy, showed that our concern is natural, and that we are right this time.
Of course, they were also concerned about the fact that the Black Sea is not actually open to international traffic. You know that there is the Montreux Convention which is linked only to the riparian states, to a shorter stay in the Black Sea, and what type of ships can enter.
The battle group from Mihail Kogalniceanu, the one that came through the European Command of the NATO Armed Forces, led by France, is complete, we have 500 French soldiers, we have 300 Belgian soldiers, we also have the Dutch, I think this group will be also completed by Portuguese soldiers."
