Romania supports the Republic of Moldova's accession to the European Union, President Nicusor Dan emphasized on Tuesday in Chisinau, declaring himself very optimistic that in the parliamentary election due this fall, the Moldovan citizens will keep the country's Europe-bound direction.

'The most important project of the Republic of Moldova is accession to the European Union, and you can fully count on our support on this point,' said the Romanian head of state in Chisinau, as he delivered a joint press conference with President Maia Sandu.

He also declared himself highly optimistic that at the September 28 parliamentary election across the Prut, the Moldovan citizens will prove the civic spirit of maintaining the European direction the country has been pursuing for years now.

Also, the head of state invited Maia Sandu to visit Romania, stressing that his presence in Chisinau is a guarantee of Romania's continued support to the Republic of Moldova.

'It is a great joy to be in Chisinau today. This is my first official bilateral visit as Romania's President and I was very particular that it should be here. We have a special, heartfelt relationship. My presence here is a guarantee of the continued support that Romania grants to the Republic of Moldova. This is an important moment the Republic of Moldova is experiencing: the beginning of its EU accession process. Obviously, we share the same set of values and together we pursue the same aspirations,' the head of state emphasized.

According to him, the bilateral relationship with the Republic of Moldova needs to be reinforced even further.

'We are talking (...) about the energy sector, about interconnection projects. We are also talking about infrastructure, so that the Republic of Moldova can be closer to the European market, the most important such system. We discussed customs, of course, and also about the need for Romanian companies to invest more in the Republic of Moldova, and about the dedicated guarantee fund Romania has been promising the private sector for a long time now, about joint education projects that should carry on,' added Nicusor Dan.

He offered his hosts congratulations for 'the determination to reform the state and thus join the European Union, a guarantee for both prosperity, institutional predictability, and the very security of the Republic of Moldova.'

'Romania supports your efforts, both at diplomatic level, in the relation with our partners, and concretely, to the extent that, in specific areas, our expertise is needed, which also includes all the mistakes we have made over time. They are part of this expertise,' Nicusor Dan pointed out.

The president emphasized that 'the Russian Federation is the greatest threat at this moment', indicating that joint means of response to hybrid warfare are needed.

'Beyond the war in Ukraine, which causes insecurity in the entire area, we must be very careful and have joint hybrid warfare response means ready - and we spoke today about cooperating in this direction too,' the head of the state detailed. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Florentina Peia; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)