Romania's Foreign Minister Oana Toiu, said on Thursday that Romania is 'no less protected' in terms of air defence compared than it was before transferring the Patriot system to Ukraine.

She told RFI radio broadcaster that supporting the air defence near the border with Romania contributes to its own safety. The minister rejected the claims that Romania would have weakened its own defence in order to support the neighbouring state.

'On the other hand, today, we have a better anti-aircraft defence system than we had before we transferred the Patriot system to Ukraine. We received the money for that system from the allied countries and at this moment we also have the approval of the U.S. and steps have been taken so that a new one is already delivered, instead of the transferred one. Another one that was already in preparation was also activated. So, we are not less protected than we were before we made this gesture,' said Toiu.

She added that Russia has also bombed areas such as Chernivtsi, where there is a Romanian minority. Thus, the air defence system is meant to protect not only Ukrainians, but also ethnic Romanians.

She said that achieving sustainable peace in Ukraine is important to Romania, as well as rebuilding the country. It is, in fact, an investment 'in our own security and in our own economy.'

'I have attended a conference for the reconstruction of Ukraine in Rome. This component also includes an economic objective, because we are talking about the largest reconstruction project of our generation, of the continent. There are nine directions on which further work can be done. We need to make sure in Romania that we are closer to the business environment that wants to build there, because the common European fund from which this will be done must be a fund available and accessible to Romanian projects, Romanian-Ukrainian, Romanian-Polish, Romanian-German, Romanian-Italian, Romanian-French projects.'

Asked if Romania will maintain its discretion regarding the military aid provided to Ukraine, Toiu said that the decision does not belong entirely to her.

'It's not entirely just my decision. There is this culture of discretion regarding the military aid that Romania offers. It remains to be seen to what extent it will change moving forward. I believe, both personally, and from the perspective of the MFA, that Romania needs to talk more about the things it does also domestically, so that our own citizens understand what we suggest and how it actually helps us. And how huge a risk to Romania Russia ending up occupying territories in Ukraine and, at the limit, winning this war is. It is very important to us that this never happens. It is very important to us that Russia is defeated in Ukraine,' Toiu stressed. AGERPRES (RO - editing by: Irinela Visan; EN - writing by: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu)