Foreign Affairs Minister Oana Toiu on Wednesday at the meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels said that the 'key objectives' of this gathering concern the air defence of allied countries.
'Romania is an essential provider of defence and deterrence on the Eastern Flank,' the Romanian foreign minister said before the meeting.
She underlined the importance of strengthening maritime security.
'Today's key objectives concern air defence, especially ways to strengthen our capacity to protect our airspace from drones. For Romania a very important component is maritime security and we will meet today in the Romania-Türkiye-Bulgaria format to discuss security in the Black Sea. And of course, as I said earlier, military mobility is very important for us and we will discuss this with Italy and the countries of the Western Balkans regarding the Balkan corridor and ways to improve military mobility from the Black Sea to the Adriatic Sea,' Toiu said.
The Foreign minister reiterated that Romania supports a 'real peace' at the border and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Regarding the current talks on peace, Toiu stressed that 'when it comes to Russia we should pay more attention to actions than to words'.
'Unfortunately in recent days we have seen attacks by Russia against children and civilians. So we must look at what they do, not what they say,' Toiu remarked.
She also highlighted the need for regional security.
'Romania has a very important role and we want to continue contributing to this in terms of Black Sea security. It is essential not only in relation to NATO but also regarding the security of trade routes in the Black Sea, a basic element since the start of the war of aggression, to allow for example the transit of grain necessary even for Ukraine's economic survival,' the minister said.
She also called for better allied coordination to 'recognise hybrid attacks as real risks within NATO and to treat them accordingly.'
Oana Toiu said that after the meeting in Brussels she was going to travel to Vienna where she was scheduled to meet her Ukrainian and Moldovan counterparts within the Odesa Trilateral to discuss the security situation in the region.