A joint statement signed by the Romanian and Canadian Ministers of Foreign Affairs

Romania and Canada are in agreement that alliances and consolidated partnerships are crucial against the current and future challenges and will coordinate their consolidation efforts in the transatlantic relation in all cooperation formats, according to a joint statement signed on Monday by the Romanian and Canadian Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu and Melanie Joly."We met today in Bucharest, in the context of the continuous large scale military aggression of Russia against the territorial integrity, sovereignty and the independence of Ukraine. (...) On this occasion, we reiterate our decision of maintaining a tight contact and coordinating within the extended community of allies and partners that share these common values, united in the will of supporting international order based on rules, which is essential for maintaining the peace and global security and for protecting democracy and freedom," the statement shows."We deplore the large number of Ukrainian citizens that have perished or were injured until now. Millions more are suffering from deprivation in Ukraine, as the critical infrastructure is destroyed. Over a million refugees have left Ukraine until now towards neighboring countries, including in Romania. We agreed that we must make a top priority in comforting the suffering caused to the people who are forced to leave their homes," the officials point out."We agreed that we must support the resilience of the Republic of Moldova, including the energy dimension, as well as all other Eastern partners and countries in Western Balkans. We discussed about the importance of continuing to consolidate NATO's defence and deterrence posture and the need for consolidating the Eastern Flank, especially in the Black Sea region, including by deploying allied troops and by creating a NATO Battle Group in Romania. Romania thanks Canada for all its contributions made until now for Romania's security and the extended region of the Black Sea," the joint statement also highlights.Furthermore, the officials have also pointed out that they will continue to work together with their partners and allies, to consult and coordinate regarding possible additional sanctions against Russia and Belarus.