PM Ciolacu at the first joint meeting of the Romanian and Ukrainian governments

The first joint meeting of the Romanian and Ukrainian governments, which took place on Wednesday in Kyiv, is truly "a historic moment," said Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu.The PM said that the meeting of the governments of Bucharest and Kyiv represents "the first concrete step in the achievement of the Strategic Partnership" between the two countries."The first joint meeting of the Romanian and Ukrainian governments is truly a historic moment and I am glad that it takes place exactly two months after the meeting I had with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Bucharest. This joint meeting of governments is historic because it represents the first concrete step in the achievement of the Strategic Partnership between our countries, as confirmed during last week's visit to Bucharest of President Zelenskyy. Beyond the bilateral and security dimension of this Strategic Partnership, I would also give it a symbolic importance. Namely, the fact that both Romania and Ukraine, two key countries in this region of Europe, share common visions that are related to the respect of fundamental democratic values," said Ciolacu.He assured that Romania "will continue to support Ukraine politically and practically until the final victory and the full restoration of its territorial integrity" and that it will support it in the reconstruction process."I am glad to be in Kyiv today, for the first time as Prime Minister of Romania. It is with great excitement and confidence that I return to you, after my visit last year, when I had the opportunity to see with my own eyes the atrocities committed by the Russian army in Borodianka and Irpin. I will never forget those terrible images and I believe that, on behalf of all the innocent people who were murdered in cold blood, we have a duty to support Ukraine to the end in this war and not leave those crimes unpunished. From this perspective, Romania will continue to support Ukraine politically and practically until the final victory and the full restoration of its territorial integrity. At the same time, Romania will stand by Ukraine and beyond in the process of reconstruction of the country and European and Euro-Atlantic integration. We are thus supporting an independent, sovereign, democratic, free and prosperous Ukraine, which is in Romania's strategic interest," added the Romanian Prime Minister.At the same time, Marcel Ciolacu condemned "in the strongest terms the continuation of the Russian Federation's attacks on civilian targets, on critical energy and port infrastructure," actions that he called war crimes."All these Russian actions only demonstrate frustration. Frustration in the face of international solidarity for Ukraine, but also in the face of the heroism and resistance shown by the Ukrainian people," Ciolacu added.