President Iohannis: Black Sea region must be protected against the effects of the war in Ukraine

 Our region, the wider Black Sea area, must be protected against the effects of Russia's war against Ukraine and its hybrid war and malign interference, the Romanian head of state, Klaus Iohannis, told the General Assembly of the United Nations Organization.He recalled that "since the day one of the war, Romania has acted in full solidarity with the brave Ukrainian people.""We will continue to provide safe haven and protect refugees coming from our neighbour, as we did for over 6 million Ukrainians who already crossed our borders. We fully support the Ukrainian Peace Formula as the most suitable framework conducive to a fair, lasting, and sustainable peace. We also support the pursuit of international law and accountability, so that all those responsible for atrocities are brought to justice," added Iohannis.The President also reminded the audience about the importance of our region and the fact that Romania has been constantly arguing on the need to keep the so-called protracted or frozen conflicts in the region high on the priorities agenda and also offered "substantial support" to the Republic of Moldova, "the country that was most affected by the war in Ukraine.""Romania is a direct neighbour to the continued war of aggression of Russia against Ukraine and we acted, with all our energy, to bring a solid contribution to regional and international security and stability. This war demonstrated that the Black Sea needs more global attention, as it is of strategic importance for transatlantic security," emphasised Iohannis.    In context, Iohannis added that Romania will not let down its most vulnerable partners . "By terminating the Black Sea Grain Initiative and by attacking Ukrainian ports, Russia further exacerbates the global food crisis. We once again urge the Russian Federation to cease blocking the Initiative. As a direct neighbour of Ukraine and a responsible and solidary international actor, Romania has played an active role in the global efforts on food security. Since the beginning of the war, we have facilitated the delivery of more than 25.5 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain," said Iohannis.He went on to say that "Romania will not let down our most vulnerable partners who need our support, especially those from least developed countries, including from Africa.""We also invest and bring our contribution for African institutional resilience, peacekeeping, and capacity building," added the President.