ForMin Melescanu participates in NATO ministerial meeting in Washington, on Alliance's future

Foreign Affairs Minister Teodor Melescanu attended on Wednesday and Thursday the NATO ministerial meeting, which took place in Washington in order to mark 70 years since the establishment of the North Atlantic Alliance. 

In this regard, a Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) release informs that on Wednesday evening an official ceremony was held, hosted by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in the place where, 70 years ago, the Washington Treaty was signed by the 12 founding allied states. 

At the same time, on the occasion of the meeting, substantial discussions regarding the main topics which are currently included on the NATO agenda were carried out, in the preparation of the future NATO Summit, scheduled to take place in December 2019, in London. Thus, the ministerial meeting schedule included two sessions and a lunch at the allies level, held on Thursday. 

The first working session was dedicated to recent developments, with an emphasis on the Eastern Neighborhood. According to the MAE, the allies exchanged views on the security situation and discussed about NATO's role in the current context, taking into account that Russia maintains its aggressive posture and actions, and further breaches the provisions of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). Also tackled were both the measures regarding the strengthening of NATO's deterrence and defence posture and the ones regarding the support granted to partner states, in view of consolidating their national defence capabilities and increasing internal resilience. It was decided to strengthen the existing measures in the Black Sea region and grant additional support to Georgia and Ukraine. 

"The firm commitment of all member states was reiterated regarding the continuation of a comprehensive role of NATO in order to efficiently respond to both conventional-type threats and challenges and those of hybrid nature. Minister Melescanu mentioned that, in the context of these concerning security developments, the Alliance should continue the efforts to fully implement the agreed measures, including in the Black Sea region, in a coherent and unitary manner, in view of ensuring an efficient response to the complex threats and challenges which the Alliance is confronted with," the quoted source mentions. 

The talks within the second session were dedicated to the strategic developments at international level, with an emphasis on the demarches in terms of combating terrorism. The Ministers reviewed the efforts, materialised in operational commitments in Afghanistan and Iraq, the support granted to the International Coalition against ISIL, but also the assistance provided to partners in the South Neighborhood. The head of the Romanian diplomacy underscored our country's active participation in all these efforts. He especially highlighted the significant contribution to the mission in Afghanistan, welcoming the progresses recorded so far. He also underscored the importance of Afghanistan continuing to strengthen the positive results achieved in recent years. 

The foreign affairs ministers' meeting concluded with a working lunch in an ally format. On this occasion, there were discussed the progresses recorded in terms of the fair burden-sharing of responsibilities, the allies' determination to continue in this regard being reconfirmed, in the sense of fulfilling the commitment taken on at the NATO Summit in Wales in 2014 on the three major coordinates: budget allocations, capabilities and contributions to missions and operations. On this occasion, the importance given by the member states to ensuring the necessary resources to meet NATO's objectives in the current international context was highlighted. The strong commitment of the member states to a solid transatlantic relationship, the foundation of a strong and united Alliance was also reiterated. 

At the end of the ministerial meeting, the heads of allied diplomacy adopted a joint statement to mark NATO's 70th anniversary. 

On the sidelines of the meeting, the Romanian diplomacy head carried out a meeting with his Georgian counterpart. They discussed aspects related to the bilateral relation, as well as regarding Georgia's cooperation with the EU and NATO. The Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister reconfirmed our country's firm commitment for the European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations of Georgia, welcoming the important progresses obtained by the authorities in Tbilisi in the internal reform process and the significant contributions to ensuring regional and international security.