ForMin Aurescu talks about resumption of project of holding EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Kyiv

Bogdan Aurescu attended on Monday the meeting of the EU Foreign Ministers - the Foreign Affairs Council - which took place in Brussels, in which context he spoke about the resumption of the project of holding a Kyiv meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council.He said that "it is time to resume the project of holding a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Kyiv, as a symbolic expression of the Union's support, as a whole, for Ukraine - a proposal put forward by the Romanian foreign minister even before the start of the war", according to a Romanian Foreign Ministry (MAE) release sent on Monday.As to the Western Balkans, the Romanian foreign minister expressed appreciation for the strategic discussion on the EU's commitment in the region and for the proposals resulting from the reflection process on this topic at working group level. In this context, he welcomed the inclusion in the document prepared by the European External Action Service of the proposal submitted by Romania regarding the implementation of a comprehensive information mapping exercise in the Western Balkans, which will allow the adaptation of EU measures in the field of cybersecurity.The agenda of the meeting included an in-depth exchange of views on Russia's illegal aggression against Ukraine, including a discussion with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and the participation of Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, as well as a dialogue on the Western Balkans, followed by a working meeting with the foreign ministers of the states in this region.European foreign ministers reviewed the latest developments in Ukraine, EU and member states' assistance measures, as well as international coordination for efforts to support Ukraine at all levels. The foreign ministers of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, and Canada, Melanie Joly, took part in the talks.The Romanian official also expressed support for the sixth package of sanctions against Russia, given the importance of maintaining pressure on it, as well as the need for a solution that would allow the adoption of the package to be found as soon as possible. He also reiterated his support for the European perspective of Ukraine, together with the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, and called for the Commission's Opinions on EU Accession Status for all three associated states as soon as possible, these Opinions representing necessary roadmaps for accession reform process.In the context of the Russian military aggression in Ukraine, the Romanian foreign minister stressed the importance of maintaining the Western Balkans on the European path and reiterated Romania's support for the opening of EU accession negotiations for Albania and the Republic of Northern Macedonia as soon as possible.The third meeting of the EU-Canada Joint Ministerial Committee reviewed the state of EU-Canada relations, including in the context of marking the fifth anniversary of the provisional implementation of the 2017 EU-Canada Strategic Partnership Agreement, and analyzed the ways to intensify the cooperation in the field of foreign and security policy. A Joint Declaration was adopted on the occasion of the the meeting.