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Minister Corlatean to be in Kiev on Monday
Minister of Foreign Affairs Titus Corlatean is paying a working visit to Kiev on Monday, at the invitation of his Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Deshchitsa.
According to a release the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE), the visit of Minister Titus Corlatean is part of the sustained efforts made by Romania both in the European and Euro-Atlantic structures and bilaterally for peacefully solving, through dialogue, the acute crisis in Ukraine.
'The presence of the Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs in Kiev is due to the escalation of the tensions caused by the Crimean Peninsula, an integral part of the independent and sovereign Ukraine. The consultations in Kiev will also occasion the approach to a comprehensive set of aspects on the bilateral agenda of the relations between Romania and Ukraine,' informs MAE.
The visit was agreed upon during the telephone conversation of March 4, at the initiative of the Romanian side, between the Romanian Foreign Minister and his Ukrainian counterpart.
'We agreed that I should travel to Kiev in the time to come and discuss ways to ensure protection at European standards for the Romanians living in Ukraine and here I welcomed the fact that Ukraine's acting President refused to sign the decree enacting the law that repeals the old piece of legislation on regional and minority languages,' Titus Corlatean said at the end of the talks he held with the representatives of the foreign policy parliamentary commissions about the situation in Ukraine.
The Romanian chief diplomat said that he had informed the MPs of the telephone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart in connection with Romania's position to the situation in the neighbouring country.
'I have informed the members of the parliamentary commissions of the contents of the telephone conversation I had with the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs. Romania's position is appreciated, the firm principled position of observing Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty and of condemning, together with the European and Euro-Atlantic partners, the clear violation of these prerogatives of sovereignty, of this act of aggression the Russian military action committed in a territory belonging to the Ukrainian State,' said Corlatean.
The Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs also informed of the MAE intention to send a team of negotiators to Kiev to finalize the agreement on the small-scale border traffic between Romania and Ukraine.
'We have equally agreed to speed up negotiations for the completion and signing of the small-scale border traffic. There are still one or two items in suspension that were not completed in the previous negotiations with the former Ukrainian Government. I shall promptly send a team of negotiators to Kiev for us to try and identify the final solutions. This will be a major decision of support on the part of Romania. The visa-free, free of charge movement within a range of 30 to 50 km on both sides of the border, based on the permits the Romanian side is authorized to issue,' Corlatean declared.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs also appreciated on Thursday that the decision of the authoritiesof Crimea to request joining the Russian Federation is 'unacceptable and illegal.'
'The decision that has been made today, March 6, by the authorities of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea to request joining the Russian Federation and organizing a local referendum on this option, on March 16, without the assent of the central authorities in Kiev, is unacceptable and illegal, it is a direct threat to Ukraine's territorial integrity,' said Corlatean. The Romanian chief diplomat also said that any step taken with reference to Crimea's status must be made in consultation and with the assent of the authorities in Kiev.
'The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is an integral part of the sovereign territory of independent Ukraine, within the borders of Ukraine, which are acknowledged internationally. In keeping with the international law norms and with Ukraine's constitutional and legal framework, any step meant to define the status of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea must be taken in consultation and with the assent of the central authorities in Kiev,' added the Romanian chief diplomat.
The pro-Russian Parliament of Crimea, an autonomous republic in southern Ukraine, on Thursday unanimously voted for the republic joining the Russian Federation.