On Monday, March 28, Minister of National Defence, Vasile Dincu, had a bilateral meeting with the Italian Defence Minister, Lorenzo Guerini, as part of the visit the Italian dignitary made to the 57th Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base.

During the talks, the two officials approached the security situation from the Black Sea Region, in the context of the Ukraine war, the allied decisions and measures adopted at the NATO Summit designated to the consolidation the Alliance defence and deterrence posture, as well as the cooperation within EU and at bilateral level.

The Romanian dignitary thanked for Italy's significant commitment and the constant participation of the Italian Air Force in the enhanced Air Policing Missions conducted in Romania, which is reflected including by the augmentation with four Eurofighter aircraft.

In this context, the Romanian official reiterated Romania's solidarity with Ukraine and the total and unconditional support of its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Romanian Defence Minister emphasized the unique relevance of NATO's extraordinary Summit from March 24, when the allied leaders adopted historical decisions with a view of consolidating the allied deterrence and defence posture on the Eastern flank, from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea.

In reference to the cooperation within the European Union, the Romanian dignitary appreciated that the recently approved Strategic Compass is an essential paper which repositions EU as global actor, through a strategic orientation which is based on a common evaluation of the security situation and on restating the importance of EU-NATO cooperation for the security of the European continent. In this context, minister Dincu emphasized NATO's primordial role in the security of the Euro-Atlantic space. At the same time, the defence minister reiterated the importance of consolidating the security on the close Eastern neighborhood by using the entire potential of EU's tools and policies in order to consolidate Ukraine's, the Republic of Moldova's and Georgia's resilience.

At the end of the meeting, minister Vasile Dincu reiterated the importance of continuing providing humanitarian support to Ukraine, by saluting Italy's contribution consisting in significant donations, among which eight fully-equipped ambulances which reached Ukraine through the humanitarian logistic hub from Suceava, Italy being among the first countries which used this facility.

In his turn, the Italian Defence Minister pointed out the essential role Romania holds in ensuring security in the Black Sea Region, by reiterating Italy's decision of contributing to the consolidation of NATO's Eastern flank.

In this context, minister Lorenzo Guerini announced Italy's intention of sending, in the near future, two maritime minesweepers to act in the Black Sea, together with the Romanian Naval Forces in order to discover and neutralize the mines.

The Press Office