President Nicusor Dan - meeting with Maia Sandu and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Chisinau

  President Nicusor Dan, who was in Chisinau on Thursday, attended alongside Moldovan President Maia Sandu the military parade marking the Republic of Moldova's Independence Day.Also present on the specially arranged stage in Chisinau's National Assembly Square were Moldovan Prime Minister Vasile Tofan and Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament Igor Grosu.More than 2,000 military personnel and employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Intelligence and Security Service, the Ministry of Justice and the Protection and Guard Service took part in the parade, joined by 150 Moldovan veterans.Also marching through the National Assembly Square were flag-bearing contingents made up of military personnel from Romania, Ukraine, Italy, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, the United States, Lithuania and Poland.On August 27, the Republic of Moldova marks 35 years since the proclamation of independence, with this year's events held under the theme "Independence Unites Us."   European integration, energy security and interconnection projects, as well as resilience and countering disinformation and hybrid threats, were among the topics addressed by Nicusor Dan and the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, during their meeting in Chisinau on Thursday."Today in Chisinau, I held consultations with President Maia Sandu regarding the priorities of the bilateral agenda and current European and international issues. (...) I commended the Republic of Moldova for the progress made in the European integration process, which has once again demonstrated exemplary political, administrative, and civic mobilization in implementing European legislation and necessary reforms. Reforms must continue at a sustained pace across all areas, and Romania will remain close by, offering technical expertise and diplomatic support to ensure the European integration process advances at an accelerated pace," wrote Nicusor Dan on Facebook.The discussions also addressed energy security and interconnection projects, with the head of state affirming that there is "a firm, shared commitment to sustain efforts in this area."   Romania's President Nicusor Dan has given assurances that Romania will continue to supply the Republic of Moldova with electricity, even if the energy deficit caused by the shutdown of the Cernavoda power plant will continue in the coming weeks.Asked at a news conference on Thursday evening in Chisinau whether Romania can continue to supply energy to Moldova amidst the ongoing energy crisis, Dan answered in the affirmative. He also explained that the energy is distributed within a regional market in which Romania, Moldova, Ukraine and Bulgaria are interconnected."Cernavoda is a matter of weeks. I don't know, two weeks, three weeks, until the hydrologists say that we will have enough water to start at least one of the reactors at Cernavoda. Then, fortunately, we are interconnected (...) with Ukraine, with Bulgaria which, fortunately, has a consistent storage capacity. I think the Cernavoda plant has been shut down for ten days. That's about it. We managed to operate. (...) The answer is yes, in the sense that the energy from this entire market is distributed in Romania and in the Republic of Moldova," said Dan.According to the President, hydrologists estimate that in about two to three weeks there will be enough water to restart at least one of the reactors at Cernavoda.Dan said that the risk that Romania will have to disconnect industrial operators is currently very small and that the country will also manage to overcome the difficult period."So, with the risk that is - I assess it as very small at the moment, for some industrial operators to be taken off the grid , we will manage to weather the ongoing crisis."However, the President drew attention to the fact that several important works in the energy sector, which should have been completed by now, are still overdue. In his opinion, the situation will improve significantly in the coming year."It's a matter of weeks, and, unfortunately, many works or some important works that should have been completed at this time are not completed, but in one year's time (...) we will be much better," said Dan. Topics such as resilience, countering disinformation and hybrid threats, and the need to counter pressures from Russia were also addressed. " Today, we also addressed issues of resilience, countering disinformation and hybrid threats, as well as the need to counter pressures from Russia. Among these, the violation of airspace by Russian drones poses a constant challenge for our authorities, and we will deepen our cooperation in this regard," the President stated.He highlighted that Thursday's meeting represented "further proof of the closeness between Romania and the Republic of Moldova" and of the "special relationship based on a shared history, language, culture, and traditions."(Photo:https://www.presidency.ro/)