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Romania and Ukraine sign agreement on measures meant to increase confidence and security
Romania and Ukraine will notify the military activities they carry out in the border areas 42 days at least before beginning these activities, reads the agreement on measures meant to increase confidence and security, which was signed in Kiev on Monday by Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Titus Corlatean and his Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Deshchytsia.
According to the agreement issued by the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Romania and Ukraine will send two observers each to the notifiable military activities, except for the ones that last longer than 48 hours.
As for the Snake Island, Ukraine pledges to not own and deploy offensive arms (tanks, aircraft, attack helicopters) on the Snake Island.
Ukraine and Romania also have the right to make an inspection each in the border area every year and an assessment visit to a military unit to examine the activities and the training in that unit.
The agreement applies to an area including, in Romania, the north of the Counties of Maramures (northern Romania), Suceava (north-eastern Romania), Botosani (north-eastern Romania) and the east of Galati County (eastern Romania) and, in Ukraine, the south of the districts on Romania's northern border and the area between the Danube and the Dniester Liman.
The agreement covers a 5-year span of time, which is automatically prolonged for new one-year spans of time.
ForMin Corlatean had brief meeting in Kiev with CoE Secretary General Jagland
Romania's Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean on Sunday in Kiev had a brief meeting with Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CoE) Thorbjorn Jagland and Austrian Foreign Minister and also chairman in office of the CoE Committee of Ministers Sebastian Kurz.
'Discussed at the meeting were plans to get European organisations involved in the reform of Ukraine, to settle the ongoing political crisis, democratise the institutions of Ukraine amidst preparations for the presidential election scheduled for May 25, 2014, including securing a protection system in line with European standards of the national minorities' rights,' Romania's Foreign Ministry (MAE) reports in a press release.
On the other hand, the Romanian chief diplomat reports that mentioned at the meeting was the possibility of convening an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers to tackle the attitude of the Russian Federation, as well as the establishment of an international specialist committee to reconcile the Eastern regions of Ukraine and the country's national authorities.
Corlatean also discussed the importance of getting the Venice Commission in assessing the legality of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea holding a referendum on the statute of the region.