Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu condemns the new Russian missiles attacks in Ukraine and announces that some of them hit at a distance of 1 - 1.5 kilometers from the headquarters of Romanian's Embassy in Kyiv, however the diplomatic personnel is safe.

The Foreign Affairs Minister participates on Monday in the meeting of foreign ministers of the EU member states - the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), which takes place in Luxembourg.

"Today, I will reiterate the fact that Romania is condemning the recent escalation of the conflict in Ukraine by Russia, especially through the missile attacks last Monday, but also today, in the center of Kyiv and in other cities of Ukraine. This morning I kept close contact with the Romanian Embassy in Kyiv. Some missile have struck at a distance of 1 - 1.5 kilometers from the headquarters of our embassy, however the personnel is safe and we are closely monitoring the developments. These attacks represent a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, which firmly prohibits any attack on civilian targets and civilians," Aurescu said prior to the meeting.

He mentioned that, in this context, he will argue the fact that is paramount for the European Union to support the Republic of Moldova.

"I will underscore the need for the European Union to support the Government in Chisinau, in order to handle the energy crisis. Romania brings its own contribution: we are already providing energy to our neighbor, the Republic of Moldova, in order to manage this situation in an efficient manner," the Minister stated.

Minister Aurescu showed that he will also reiterate that Romania is condemning the fact that, last Monday, one of the missiles that hit Ukraine crossed over the air space of the Republic of Moldova, which represents a violation of international law, being a neural state, according to the constitution of this country.

The head of the Romanian diplomacy also mentioned that he will hail, within the meeting, the latest package of sanctions passed by the European Union against Russia, the latest tranche of the European Peace Facility (EPF) to support Ukraine and the launch of the EU mission to train the Ukrainian army.

"Romania will continue its support for Ukraine. It is a multidimensional support, but now, I just want to mention the fact that since the beginning of the crisis, over 5.2 million tons of grain passed through Romania toward third destinations, which represents an important support in the management of the global food crisis," Aurescu also said.

The Foreign Affairs Minister will also underscore that Russia is increasingly more isolated.

"The latest Resolution of the UN General Assembly was passed by a large majority. Also, the results of the elections within the Conference of the International Telecommunication Union, which took place in Bucharest, proved that Russia is isolated," he added.

He also talked about the EU mission to monitor the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, pointing out that it is a very important step towards increasing trust between the parties and stressing that the approach is the result of a proposal which Romania launched during the tour it carried out in June 2021, in the South Caucasus, together with its colleagues from Austria and Lithuania.

The discussions of the meeting in Luxembourg will also tackle the EU-China relations and other topics such as Iran.

"Today, I will voice the fact that Romania is condemning the violation of fundamental human rights, such as freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. I will convey support for the adoption of restrictive measures, as a reaction to Iran's violation of human rights and also, taking into account the credible information regarding the delivery of drones to Russia, therefore also taking into account this gesture of Iran in support of Russia," Minister Aurescu also said. AGERPRES (RO - author: Florentina Peia, editor: Florin Marin; EN - author: Rodica State, editor: Adina Panaitescu)