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ForMin Aurescu in London proposed the full capitalization of the potential offered by the Strategic Partnership
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, on the occasion of his meeting in London with his British counterpart, Philip Hammond, underscored how important it is that the British authorities join the Romanian ones in the effort to improve the perception about Romanians living in the UK, reads a release sent by MAE.
"Bogdan Aurescu especially insisted during the talks on the necessity of an active cooperation of the two sides in improving the perception about Romanians working in the UK, among this country's citizens, in continuation of the written document presented on February 23, 2014, following the documentary produced by Channel 4 [e.n. - considered to be discriminating against Romanian citizens in UK]. He insisted thus on how important it is that the British authorities cooperate with the Romanian ones in this effort. The two dignitaries agreed that diplomats from the two Foreign Ministries should meet to establish an inventory of possible lines of actions in regard to this matter," specified the MAE release.
Aurescu also reminded that, according to statistics published in the UK and by the European Commission, the Romanian community in the United Kingdom is a net contributor to the economic and social-cultural life of the host country. Moreover, he showed that Romanians are well integrated in this country, as 3 out of 4 Romanians do have a job, "with the employment rate among the Romanians living in UK being of 77.7 per cent, which is higher than in the case of the British citizens themselves."
"In bilateral terms, Minister Aurescu and his British counterpart hailed the close relations and cooperation existing between the two states, based on the Strategic Partnership that is especially grounded on the security and defense dimension. Starting from this already solid base, the Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister proposed the full capitalization of the potential offered by the Strategic Partnership in all fields of cooperation," the abovementioned source said.
The Romanian official also pleaded for the strengthening of the high level political dialogue between the two countries, for the maintaining of the upward trend in bilateral trade exchanges, for the expansion and diversification of cooperation in the economic field, for an enhanced coordination on topics of mutual interest within the European Union, as well as in respect to the positions that London and Bucharest adopted related to the best approaches to existing challenges at regional level.
Another issue discussed at the meeting was related to the Republic of Moldova, with the two dignitaries voicing hope that the authorities in Chisinau "will continue to make sustained efforts towards a concrete consolidation of Moldova's European path and a deepening of democratic reforms and consolidation of the rule of law state institutions."
Moreover, they reviewed the recent developments in the eastern vicinity of the EU, with a special focus on Ukraine. In this context, Aurescu underscored the necessity of maintaining the sanctions regime until the complete application of measures agreed under the Minsk II Agreement, while also stating his belief that, in case of a failure in meeting the said commitments, Europe must consider new sanctions.
On the other hand, Bogdan Aurescu and Philip Hammond reiterated their appreciation for the level of bilateral cooperation between Romania and the UK within NATO, including in what concerns the implementation of the NATO Action Plan to increase operational capacity.
"The head of the Romanian diplomacy hailed the contribution announced by the UK on the occasion of the British Minister of Defence's visit to Bucharest on March 22, to the NATO Force Integration Units within the NATO's multinational command, to be created in Romania, as well as NATO's reinsurance measures, through the participation in the naval exercises in the Black Sea this year," said the abovementioned source.
Moreover, MAE specified in the release that the two ministers voiced their deep regrets and their entire compassion for the families of the victims of the air crash in France.
Minister Aurescu on the exclusively defensive nature of the anti-ballistic missile system
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, on Tuesday, on the occasion of a speech he delivered at a conference on anti-ballistic missile system for defense held in London, the exclusively defensive nature of the anti-ballistic missile system (e.n. - while referring to the one in Deveselu, Romania", which will be used "in compliance with the UN Charter and international law, only for legitimate defense purposes," reads a release sent on Tuesday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE).
The head of the Romanian diplomacy participated as the key speaker in the Conference of the Royal United Services Institute on anti-ballistic missile systems for defense. In his speech, entitled "Missile Defence. A strategic Transatlantic Project," Minister Bogdan Aurescu underscored that the development of the NATO defense capabilities against the ballistic missiles represents a substantial contribution to the strengthening of the transatlantic religions and allied capabilities.
Aurescu reiterated the fact that any threat or use of force, in the context of the development of this strictly defensive project "would be unacceptable, for it contradicts the fundamental principle of the international law prohibiting the threat or use of force, which is an imperative norm of the international law."
The Romanian official showed that the anti-missile shield doesn't violate the INF (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces) Treaty, "considering that the stipulations of the article VII, paragraph III, of the Treaty, do not apply to missiles that are not to go against land-based targets, while the SM-3 interceptors only have as an objective air targets, which means that it does not fall under the incidence of the INF Treaty."
"The location of the missile system in Romania brings a plus of stability, strengthens the transatlantic relation, creates cooperation opportunities with third states and contributes to the achievement of the peace desideratum in Europe," said MAE.
The Romanian high-ranked dignitary also appreciated as necessary that NATO continues with investments in its defense capabilities, in order to be able to successfully oppose "the increasingly more diverse" security challenges. In his opinion, the Romanian-American strategic projects of location the missile shield at Deveselu "eloquently reflects the commitment of the US when it comes to European security.'
"Bogdan Aurescu also specified that 2015 will be an important year for the anti-ballistic missile defense system, following that cooperation and coordination between Romania and the US to become even more efficient, through the opening of the the Aegis Ashore facility in Romania, the first of its kind. The Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs also underscored both sides' determination in having the project implemented was also supported by the close relations existing between the US EPAA [United States European Phased Adaptive Approach] and the NATO's anti-ballistic missile system, based on the elements of the 2nd stage of the US EPAA, as made available to NATO, the allied defense system against ballistic missiles can move to its next stage of declaring an initial operating capability respectively," said the abovementioned source.