President Iohannis, Greek PM discuss tensions in EU's Eastern vicitnity during meeting in Bucharest

President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday welcomed the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace, their meeting's agenda including topical issues on the European, regional and international agenda, also paying a special attention to the Euro-Atlantic security and the increased tensions in the Eastern Vicinity of the European Union, according to the Presidential Administration.

"The President of Romania and the Prime Minister of Greece reaffirmed their strong support for the territorial integrity of Ukraine and condemned the actions of the Russian Federation, which break the international law, and deny the sovereignty and territorial integrity of another country. The two leaders underscored the importance of maintaining close coordination, both at the level of the EU and at NATO level, in preparing and applying the various measures," informs the Presidential Administration.

During the meeting, the two officials reconfirmed on this occasion the excellent state of relations between the two countries and voiced their desire to exploit the high potential of bilateral, European and regional cooperation.

The same source shows that the high officials underscored the symbolism of this day: on February 11/23, 1880, 142 years ago, the Consulate General of Greece in Bucharest sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the note by which the Greek state recognized Romania's independence.

"The President of Romania and the Prime Minister of the Greek Republic appreciated that the bilateral relationship of the two countries benefits from a number of catalytic factors, such as significant economic cooperation, interest in increasing sectoral cooperation, increased mutual investment and implementation of energy interconnection and other infrastructure projects. Klaus Iohannis and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis agreed to continue cooperation in the energy field, including in a trilateral format (Romania, Bulgaria, Greece) in order to find solutions together to the current energy security challenges," said the Presidential Administration.

The two officials pointed out that the presence of the Romanian community in Greece and of the Greek community in Romania plays a positive role in the development of bilateral relations, to which are added the tourist and cultural exchanges.

On the occasion of this visit, President Klaus Iohannis welcomed the signing by the Prime Ministers of Romania and Greece of a joint Declaration on strengthening political, economic and sectoral cooperation between Romania and the Greek Republic, which will have the role of setting a high and pragmatic pace to bilateral cooperation.

The Greek Prime Minister thanked President Klaus Iohannis for the support Greece received last summer from Romania in extinguishing the devastating fires that affected Greece and welcomed the efficiency and professionalism of the Romanian firefighters.

The Greek official is currently paying an official visit to Bucharest. AGERPRES