MAE's Neculaescu - at FAC underscores importance of a visible and active committment of EU in Moldova

Secretary of State with the Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) Dan Neculaescu on Monday underscored at the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) meeting in Brussels how important it is for the EU to continue with a visible and active commitment to the benefit of the Republic of Moldova and its citizens. According to the MAE, the FAC meeting agenda included talks on the Republic of Moldova, China and Yemen. In the context of marking five years since the illegal annexation by the Russian Federation of the Crimean Peninsula and Sevastopol, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, reconfirmed, alongside the European foreign affairs ministers, the support EU grants to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, while also mentioning in this respect the Joint Statement adopted by the EU states and published on Sunday. The European officials had an exchange of opinions regarding the developments in the Republic of Moldova, in the context of the parliamentary elections of February 24, in trying to identify the optimal modalities of commitment by the EU from now on. While showing how relevant this file is for Romania, including in terms of priorities during the Romanian rotating presidency of the EU Council, Secretary of State Dan Neculaescu went on to discuss about the importance of the next stages following the electoral process in the Republic of Moldova. He also stressed the importance of continuing in the future a visible and active commitment of the EU to Moldova and its citizens. They also had a debate regarding the latest developments in China, in preparation of the European Council meeting (March 21-22) and the EU-China Summit (April 9). The officials exchanged views on the issues already addressed at the informal meeting of the foreign affairs ministers in Bucharest (January 31 - February 1). Secretary of State Dan Neculaescu welcomed the inclusion of the discussions about China on the FAC agenda and referred to the EU-China Connectivity Platform, an important tool for ensuring the synergy among the various connectivity initiatives of both the EU and China, while also mentioning on the same occasion the recent developments on the development of the Black Sea - the Caspian Sea Corridor. The discussion on the situation in Yemen focused on the importance of a political solution that would put an end to the serious humanitarian crisis. The need to implement the Stockholm Agreement was expressed and the officials reiterated their support for negotiations under the UN aegis, coordinated by the UN Special Representative, Martin Griffiths. The participation in the meeting was a good opportunity for the Romanian side to inform the European partners about the results of the Azerbaijan - Georgia - Romania - Turkmenistan quadrilateral meeting held in Bucharest (March 4 2019), during which the four foreign affairs minister signed a joint political statement in support of the materialization of the Black Sea - Caspian Sea freight route. On the FAC sidelines, during an informal lunch, the European foreign affairs ministers discussed the EU-China relations in the presence of the State Councilor and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. AGERPRES (RO - author: Oana Ghiţa, editor: Georgiana Tanasescu; EN - author: Cristina Zaharia, editor: Adina Panaitescu)