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French Ambassador: Romania has been exemplary with regard to solidarity corridors French Ambassador
Romania has been "exemplary" with regard to the solidarity corridors through which Ukrainian cereals are transported, Nicolas Warnery, the French ambassador to Bucharest, told Agerpres in an interview.
The diplomat said that, in this regard, our country "has not renounced its European obligations".
"It [Romania] was extremely responsible. Not everyone was like that, but it was, and we are grateful. In turn, we help it a lot. There are less noticeable, discreet things, in terms of transport, river transport, rail transport. We have been very present in these files (...) We stand by Romania in this dossier and it is very important that these corridors continue to exist, to take all the export cereals out of Ukraine, to fight against hunger in the world," said Nicolas Warnery.
He continued, saying that the Black Sea area "is an area with dangers, to some extent. There are mines adrift and we have to fight against this danger."
Referring to the Battle Group in Romania, and to the future of this NATO group in Romania, but also to the future of the French-Romanian military relationship, the French ambassador recalled that the French-Romanian military relationship is very old, it has historical foundations, with reference to The First World War and the mission led by Henri Berthelot, which helped Romania decisively.
"But, leaving General Berthelot for the history books, let's talk about what happened in 2022. President Macron said a few days before the offensive [of the Russian Federation in Ukraine - editor's note] - we all hoped that this would not happen - that if we have to go somewhere, it will be in Romania. He proposed to NATO and Romania a special French effort in the coming weeks. In reality, the Russian aggression took place on February 24 and we immediately deployed the first elements, in the days that followed. We immediately formed what is called a battle group in Alliance terms, which is actually a brigade. The brigade is not actually complete, but all the structures of a brigade are in place, including equipment, which has 1,500 soldiers who train, with successive rotations every four months. I saw them when they were preparing to take part in military exercises. They are real soldiers, ready for war, if necessary. We hope that will not be the case, that Romania will never be attacked. It looks a bit like the French troops pre-positioned in Germany, during the Warsaw Pact. Everyone hoped they wouldn't be needed, but they were ready to go in a few hours. It's the same thing. Mission Aigle is ready at any moment. It is prepared to be advanced to the level of a full brigade, in case of need," said ambassador Warnery.
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France supports the complete accession of Romania to the Schengen area, the ambassador of this country in Bucharest, Nicolas Warnery, declared, in the quoted interview granted to Agerpres.
The diplomat said that a "huge majority" of the European Union supports the accession of our country to the space of free movement with land borders and many "breathed a sigh of relief" after the decision in December, of accession with air and sea borders.
"We support full membership, a huge majority of the European Union supports full membership. First of all, because it is something coherent, because it is a political objective and because we see very well the queues of cars, queues of trucks at the land borders and it is absurd in terms of the movement of people and goods, but also in terms of security and even in terms of the environment. It is absurd to see how trucks wait (at the border - ed. n) for whole days. We support the full accession, as soon as possible, of Romania in the Schengen area, from all points of view," said Warnery.
He said that his country is enjoying the first step taken in this regard.
"At the beginning of December we didn't think it would happen. We joined forces. In the middle of December we said it had to happen. At the end of the month the decision was made. It was a great joy for many and many breathed a sigh of relief, including the diplomats accredited here in Bucharest, among whom I am one. So, it is a decisive first stage. The second one must follow, so the fastest possible accession to the terrestrial Schengen area is being discussed," the ambassador said.
Warnery claimed that the period before the European Parliament elections in June "complicates things a little".
"I'm not saying that a decision will necessarily be blocked until June, but it's really a complex situation," the diplomat pointed out.