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Three ships wait for approval to make measurements on Bystroe Canal
Three ships of the River Administration of the Lower Danube Galati (AFDJ) are waiting for approval to carry out measurements on the Bystroe Canal, the minister of Transport, Sorin Grindeanu, announced on Thursday.
"We are ready! Three ships of the AFDJ Galati - endowed with equipment for measuring the depth of navigable channels - are waiting for acceptance to make measurements on the Bastroe Canal," the minister wrote on his Facebook page.
Last week, Grindeanu had announced that there are signals that Ukraine is doing dredging works on the Bystroe canal, which could have an impact on the environment and the Danube Delta.
Later, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca stated that "any excess" from maintenance works on the Bystroe canal will be clarified between Romania and Ukraine and that in this case the European Commission will be notified.
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The issue of the Bystroe Canal is not "relevant" for the bilateral relations between Romania and Ukraine and is not "defining" for this phase of the war, State Secretary with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Iulian Fota stated on Thursday, adding that there is willingness on the part of both parties for things to be clarified and there are necessary tools in this regard.
"We, first of all, want to see - together with our friends, Ukrainian neighbors - the data, the facts, so we know what we are talking about, as many things that have been thrown around in the press are not really so. (...) We see this matter as an opportunity to show that, once again, we with Ukraine can resolve this matter diplomatically, through good understanding. Yesterday I had a very good discussion with the ambassador, I could say with my friend from the Embassy of Ukraine: the same desire on the part of the Ukrainian side to discuss, to see a little what is happening, if there is something that needs to be clarified and do this together," Fota told the roundtable meeting "A year of war against Ukraine. The impact for Romania" - organized by the Romanian Diplomatic Institute.
He added that this matter was "admirably handled" by President Klaus Iohannis.
"In a way, it's a shame that the world is looking a lot at this thing. We, at the moment, have many other projects under discussion with the Ukrainian side. I cannot, unfortunately, in this preliminary phase, go into details, you will see them materialized. So, beyond the substantial aid that we give, at the moment we have an agenda with many other collaborative projects between us and Ukraine, including issues related to the Black Sea. So, effectively, all this - kind of artificially inflated - public debate casts an image that does not correspond to reality. So, we, at least in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, collaborate very well, we have frequent discussions, we meet and discuss many issues. There have been several very important visits that and Mr. Minister Aurescu and other colleagues of mine paid," explained the state secretary.
Iulian Fota showed that this matter is to be clarified and there are the tools and availability from both sides in this regard.
"So, don't consider the Bystroe issue as a relevant issue for bilateral relations, because it is not. We will clarify what is happening, we will discuss, we have clear tools that help us in this regard and, what is important, willingness. It can also be seen in the press release that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued, the Embassy meeting us with that proposal for a discussion between experts. So, I don't think that this is a defining issue for this phase of the war. It is the most important and we all do everything we can so that, on the one hand, Ukraine has everything it needs to defend its country, and, on the other hand, to try, where possible, as much as possible, to think a little about the future and see how we can build a new European security architecture so that at least the civilized states in this part of Europe feel safe," Fota added.