Acting President Ilie Bolojan welcomed by France's Emmanuel Macron at Elysee Palace

Romania's acting President Ilie Bolojan was welcomed Wednesday afternoon by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace for bilateral talks.Ilie Bolojan left for Paris on Wednesday morning to participate in the informal meeting organized by the president of the French Republic on the situation in Ukraine and the security challenges in Europe.Romania's acting president is accompanied by presidential advisor on European affairs Luminita Odobescu.    Acting President Ilie Bolojan declared on Wednesday that during his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, the Strategic Partnership between the two countries was reconfirmed and announced that the French military presence in Romania would be strengthened in the coming period."We have ensured once again that just as France has been by Romania's side in the most important moments of our country, it remains by our side also today. We have reconfirmed the Strategic Partnership with France. We have also reconfirmed once again the stability of the French military presence in Romania, at the request of our country. We have a significant French contingent that contributes, together with the other contingents of allied countries and the United States, to the security of our country, and we have confirmed that this presence will be consolidated in the coming period. We have confirmed the continuation of cooperation and development in the economic area and in the defense industry, taking into account not only regional needs, but also the possibility that this industry will be a pole of development in Romania in the coming years," Bolojan said in Paris, after the bilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.Acting President Ilie Bolojan also participated on Wednesday, in Paris, in the informal meeting organized by the President of France on the situation in Ukraine and security challenges in Europe.  Acting President Ilie Bolojan declared on Wednesday that one of the conclusions of the Paris meeting on the situation in Ukraine and the security challenges in Europe was that the best formula for resolving the crisis is collaboration between European countries and the United States of America, so that there is a ceasefire and a fair peace, which cannot be achieved without the participation of Ukraine and the European Union in the negotiations."There were interventions by each state, there were different positions, but some of them were repeated and, practically, these are conclusions of this meeting. First of all, an important conclusion is that the security of Ukraine is also the security of Europe and Romania and we, those who are in the vicinity of Ukraine and in Eastern Europe, know what it is about. Monday it is three years since Russia's aggression against Ukraine. We are not with Ukraine only out of a humanitarian feeling, primarily for this reason and injustice, but we are also out of a strategic interest for our country. In these years, as I told you, our shield has been NATO. And the second important conclusion was that, in the future, collaboration between European countries and the United States of America may be the best formula for resolving this crisis, so that we not only have a ceasefire, which is very good, but that we have a fair peace, so that in the coming years a new conflict does not start again, and this fair and equitable peace cannot be achieved without the participation of Ukraine and the European Union in the closing of these negotiations," said Ilie Bolojan.He specified that at this meeting it was agreed that there is a need, in the immediate future, for unity and coordination between European countries, which have established the preparation of a support package for Ukraine."Diversity in normal times in the European Union is a good thing, it was a gain, but in a crisis situation, such as the coronavirus or what we have now, there is an obvious need for coordination, so that we can act more quickly, so that we can have an action plan that takes into account the continued support of Ukraine, in which sense it was agreed to prepare a significant support package in the immediate future, so that it can be adopted at the first European Council," said the interim president.According to him, the support package will be both financial and military, which does not mean military presence on the ground, but ammunition, weapons, combat equipment.The interim president also said that the availability of troops is also being discussed, in the event that they are sent to keep peace."During this period, taking into account the different scenarios that can be reached, this subject is also being discussed, and Romania will have a point of view in the following period, depending on the evolution of the situation", Ilie Bolojan pointed out.He also informed that periodical information meetings to correlate positions had been agreed upon."Because, without coordination, the capacity for action is reduced. And I believe that an effective decision related to a plan will be taken at the next [European] Council, which will be organized in the following period", he opined.Ilie Bolojan mentioned that it was decided overnight that the meeting would also have an online format."Considering that I had a scheduled bilateral meeting, I came personally and I believe that this bilateral meeting was an important matter for our country," emphasized the acting president, for whom the trip to Paris was the first in an official capacity since taking office.Interim President Ilie Bolojan and Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden were present in person at the meeting on the situation in Ukraine and security challenges in Europe in Paris.The event was attended by videoconference by: President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda, President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulidis, President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, Prime Minister of Belgium, Bart de Wever, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Rossen Jeliazkov, Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Croatia, Andrej Plenkovic, Prime Minister of Estonia, Kristen Michal, Prime Minister of Finland, Petteri Orpo, Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Ireland, Micheal Martin, Prime Minister of Iceland, Kristrun Frostadottir, Prime Minister of Latvia, Evika Silina, Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Store, Prime Minister of Portugal, Luis Montenegro, Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, Prime Minister of Slovenia, Robert Golob and Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Petr Fiala.   On Monday, leaders from Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark, along with the leadership of the European Union and NATO's Secretary General met in Paris in an emergency meeting on Ukraine at the invitation of President Macron, in the context of the peace initiatives launched by the new American administration. According to EU officials, some countries were unhappy that the meeting was only for certain leaders and not a summit of the entire European Union.The Romanian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the Paris meeting was initiated by the French president in a format known as Weimar Plus, and it included the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission, NATO's Secretary General and a number of heads of state and government of European countries that are major supporters of Ukraine."Romania, in its dual capacity as the European neighbor with the longest border with Ukraine and the country that has consistently and from the very beginning offered multidimensional, humanitarian, economic and military support to Ukraine, is directly interested that the collective European and Euro-Atlantic support for Ukraine continues as a response to the brutal and illegal war of aggression waged by the Russian Federation. This was clearly conveyed to the participants, primarily to France's President Emmanuel Macron, via diplomatic avenues," the Foreign Ministry said in a release, also emphasizing that Romania was represented at the meeting through Poland, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency.  (Photo:https://www.presidency.ro/)