One year after Yanukovych's ousting, President Iohannis hopes Minsk agreements are observed

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis marked one year since the EuroMaidan public protests ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich from Kiev; Iohannis voiced his hope that the results of the peace negotiations in Minsk will be observed and armed conflict will cease in Ukraine.

Photo credit: (c) ALEX MICSIK / AGERPRES FLOW

'Today is the one year anniversary of the Revolution of Dignity, when Ukrainian citizens mobilized themselves and took the streets against a corrupt and authoritarian regime that had pawned their European destiny. My thoughts go with respect to all those who gave their lives for freedom during those troubled days. We witnessed a nation reborn and the way its aspirations could not be crushed by tanks' caterpillars. In many respects, the heroes of the EuroMaidan were similar to those of Timisoara or Bucharest in 1989. Unfortunately, the ordeals are far from over for Ukraine. Over the past year, the Russian Federation has occupied Crimea, and in eastern Ukraine it is involved in the destabilization of this country. I hope the peace negotiations in Minsk are observed and the armed confrontation is terminated, after already claiming thousands of human lives and producing over one million refugees,' Iohannis wrote on his social media page on Sunday.

He added that, in his capacity of President of Romania, he supports the diplomatic solution of the Ukrainian conflict, making Ukraine a stable, democratic and sovereign state, which's territorial integrity is respected. 'I am represented at today's manifestations in Kiev by my national security advisor George Scutaru. On March 17 I will meet [Ukrainian] President Petro Poroshenko during my official visit to Ukraine,' Iohannis also mentioned. AGERPRES