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Presidents Iohannis, Zelensky hold phone call on bilateral cooperation, concerning developments on Ukrainian border
President Klaus Iohannis and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky had a phone call on Tuesday in the context of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Romania - Ukraine diplomatic relations and of the "concerning" security developments in the immediate vicinity of Ukraine, in the Black Sea region, the Presidential Administration informs.
President Iohannis expressed the readiness of the Romanian side to advance bilateral cooperation by broadening the legal framework and capitalizing on the existing economic potential, including trade, physical connectivity and cross-border cooperation, as well as in the field of culture.
The Romanian President also voiced his support for the continuation of negotiations on the finalization of the Joint Declaration on the European Perspective of Ukraine, a document that has been under bilateral discussion since last year, with the consideration of the elements of interest for Romania.
A considerable part of the phone conversation was devoted to the settlement of the problems related to the rights of the Romanian minority in Ukraine, especially regarding the protection of the linguistic identity of Romanian ethnics.
In this regard, President Iohannis reiterated the expectation that, starting from the recognition of the identity between the Romanian and the so-called "Moldovan" language, which was confirmed by the Ukrainian side in April 2021, Ukraine will officially recognize the non-existence of the "Moldovan language".
Welcoming the resumption in September 2021 of the rounds of negotiations at the level of secretaries of the Romanian-Ukrainian Joint Intergovernmental Commission on the protection of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities, Klaus Iohannis emphasized the need for concrete and prompt results allowing a new protocol to be initialled, as well as the resumption of the commission's activity in its plenary.
"President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he understands the concerns of the Romanian side regarding the rights of persons belonging to the Romanian minority and expressed his readiness to identify proper solutions," the Presidential Administration states.
The two heads of state also had an "in-depth" exchange of views on the security situation in the region, with the President of Romania reiterating our country's "firm" support for the sovereignty of Ukraine and its territorial integrity, as well as for its European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
Klaus Iohannis said that threats of use of force and attempts to undermine the current parameters of the European security architecture, as well to recreate "spheres of influence" are "unacceptable" and reaffirmed Romania's strong support for the right of Ukraine to choose its own foreign and security policy options.
He reiterated support for the policy of not recognizing the illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and commended Ukraine's "responsible" behavior in order to avoid escalating tensions.
In his turn, the President of Ukraine thanked Romania for its "vocal" and "active" support in both the European Union and NATO, the Presidential Administration reports.