Balkans | Bulgaria and Romania categorically condemn Russia’s aggression against Ukraine

The presidents of Bulgaria and Romania unequivocally condemned Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

This came in the joint press conference of President Radev, who is on an official visit to Bulgaria with his colleague Klaus Iohannis.

The President of Bulgaria reaffirmed the support and solidarity of the two countries in Ukraine’s struggle for independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“Given the proximity of the conflict to our region and the national minorities of both countries in Ukraine, we call for an end to the bloodshed and violation of international law,” Radev said.

The President welcomed Romania’s success in allocating more and more funds from its national budget to build modern defense capabilities.

Radev and the Romanian president signed a political statement on raising bilateral cooperation to the level of strategic partnership.

The economic relations between the two countries are constantly deepening and the volume of trade is constantly increasing. Last year it exceeded 8 billion euros and Romania is now the second largest trading partner of Bulgaria after Germany,” he said, adding that Romania ranks first in tourism exchange of Bulgaria with our neighboring countries.

“Romania and Bulgaria are not only good neighbors, but our two countries are bound by deep friendship and deep historical and cultural ties,” said Radev.

Noting that the two countries joined NATO and the European Union together and are now jointly seeking to participate in Schengen and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the President said: “Bulgaria and Romania are important after Russia started a war against Ukraine. It creates a common functional bloc for airspace management constantly growing.”

Klaus Iohannis said: “We agreed to actively continue our efforts to ensure that the decision to join both countries in the Schengen Area is taken. He said that Romania and Bulgaria are ready to join the Schengen Area.

According to the statement of the Romanian president, Bulgaria and Romania have demonstrated their willingness to join Schengen through their procedures. “Although the expansion is not related to irregular migration at the external borders, we have expressed our desire to be part of the solutions to overcome these challenges,” Iohannis noted. Somehow and through open dialogue.”

The Romanian president said that this should continue in connection with the enlargement of the European Union.

Iohannis noted that today’s visit to Bulgaria is an important moment for bilateral relations, and referred to the political declaration.

The President of Romania expressed his confidence that this cooperation framework will lead to the realization of new projects of interest at the regional and bilateral levels. “We agreed that in order to ensure our sustainability, economic development and security, our countries must give priority to areas that meet our strategic interests,” Iohannis said.

Noting that Romania and Bulgaria need more contacts, the Romanian president said that the agreement allows for the implementation of new projects in the field of connectivity, especially in the field of transport infrastructure and navigation on the Danube River, as well as in the field of energy. Iohannis stated that navigation on the Danube has an important role for both countries and can create many positive effects.

Radev pointed out that the average distance between two bridges over the Danube in the rest of Europe is 30 km, and the distance between the two bridges on the Bulgarian-Romanian border is 300 km. The President expressed his hope that a memorandum of understanding would be signed soon, explaining that the two countries intend to seek European support for the third bridge project over the Danube River.

With regard to the energy market, Youhanna said that during his meeting with Radev, the importance of coordination at the level of the European Union was stressed, especially with regard to security of supply and promotion of energy independence.

Regarding the Russian war in Ukraine, the President of Romania said that Romania is determined to continue its support to Ukraine and will continue to support it as long as necessary.

source: CardZhalNews