Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu participated, on Wednesday and Thursday, in the informal meeting of foreign ministers from NATO member states, held in Antalya, Turkey, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) reports.

According to the cited source, the meeting focused on the agenda of the NATO Summit in The Hague, which will emphasize increasing defense spending, including from the perspective of equitable sharing of responsibilities within the Alliance.

The foreign ministers discussed NATO priorities in the context of the consequences of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, both in terms of strengthening deterrence and allied defense in all areas, as well as continuing support for Ukraine.

The head of Romanian diplomacy welcomed the U.S. and European efforts, in which Romania also participates, to establish 'a comprehensive and lasting peace, supported by solid and credible security guarantees, as well as for continuing to provide assistance to Ukraine'.

According to the MAE, Emil Hurezeanu highlighted the challenges that the security situation in the Black Sea region generates, including for the Republic of Moldova. He stressed the importance of increasing the contributions of European allies to collective defense, signaling the efforts made by Romania, over the past years, to increase the budget allocated to defense.

The ministerial discussions confirmed that the Alliance is facing growing threats, to combat which clear measures are needed in terms of deterrence and defense, with more capabilities, consolidated infrastructure and increased resilience. Allies have already taken firm steps to strengthen national defense, as well as to consolidate defense on the Eastern Flank, in accordance with decisions already adopted by NATO leaders since February 2022.

The discussions also reconfirmed the importance of revitalizing the defense industry, achieving the already established capability targets, based on the new defense plans, requiring the active participation of defense industries from Allied states.

In this context, the Romanian minister emphasized the need to support national defense industries in member countries and referred to Romania's hosting, in November, an annual event of major importance at the Allied level, namely the NATO Industry Forum. AGERPRES(RO - writing by: Oana Ghita; EN - writing by: Bogdan Gabaroi)