ForMin Aurescu talks with Sweden, Finland counterparts on their NATO accession

 Minister of Foreign Affairs Bogdan Aurescu had telephone conversations on Thursday with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Sweden, Ann Linde and with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Finland, Pekka Haavisto, regarding the process of accession of the two states to the North Atlantic Alliance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported in a statement.During the discussions, the Romanian minister reiterated Romania's appreciation and support for Sweden's and Finland's efforts to join NATO and Romania's conviction that "the accession of these states will contribute to strengthening the security of the Alliance as a whole, through a posture of deterrence and more efficient defense, including the Eastern Flank, from its south, to the Black Sea, to its north".At the same time, he pointed out that the approach of the two states represents the expression of their attachment to the community of values and of the democratic spirit that the North Atlantic Alliance defends and promotes.Aurescu stressed, during the discussions, that Romania supports a rapid process of accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, recalling that our country is an active promoter of the Open Doors' Allied policy and highlighted the decisive role of the Alliance of peace and security assurance in the Euro-Atlantic space, especially in the current security context affected by the illegal aggression of Russia against Ukraine.At the same time, the Romanian chief diplomat told his two counterparts that Romania will act to maintain solidarity and allied unity on the extension decision in order to overcome the current divergences regarding the candidacies of the two states to NATO.Last but not least, minister Bogdan Aurescu stressed that the decision regarding the membership of this organization represents "an option that each state is free to assume, based on its sovereign decision and by fulfilling the criteria established for this process".