Foreign Affairs Minister Oana Toiu said on Monday, before attending the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) meeting in Brussels, that a priority for Romania is keeping energy prices under control in the context of the war in the Middle East.

'A key objective for our country is the de-escalation of the conflict in the Middle East to ensure that pressure on energy prices for our citizens is only short term and that we have a solution for the future. At present, the Prime Minister is holding discussions in the country with oil producers, as Romania is a producer of oil and gas, and we want to make sure that we can keep prices under control but also contribute to European solutions in this context,' the head of Romanian diplomacy explained.

She mentioned that Romania was the first country to activate the European rescEU mechanism for the return of citizens who remained in areas affected by the conflict in the Middle East.

According to Toiu, the crisis in the Middle East generates additional risks beyond the region.

'In recent days, together with the United States, we have increased our defence capabilities. Since 2016, Romania has had a missile defence shield together with the United States at Deveselu, and we will continue to provide access for non-kinetic equipment. (...) It is important that when we have strategic partnerships, and Romania and the United States have had a long-standing strategic partnership, we use this in the case of exclusively defensive capabilities,' the minister added.

According to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the context of Iranian threats to global stability, Romania firmly condemns the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on civilian infrastructure.

Minister Oana Toiu will reaffirm in Brussels Romania's commitment to de-escalation efforts and to protecting European citizens, the ministry pointed out.

Regarding the war of aggression launched by Russia against Ukraine, Romania will call for overcoming current blockages and for swift progress in three key areas for regional stability: accelerating the European integration of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, implementing the 90 billion euro loan to support Ukraine's resilience, and adopting the twentieth package of sanctions against the Russian Federation, the press release reads.

On the sidelines of the Foreign Affairs Council meeting, a working lunch is scheduled with the participation of India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Discussions will focus on strengthening bilateral cooperation and the stage of the EU-India Free Trade Agreement. Oana Toiu will underline the importance of this agreement for creating resilient supply chains capable of delivering concrete economic benefits to Romanian and European companies.

The discussion is considered particularly important given that relations between Romania and India have intensified in recent months, following a bilateral meeting in February between Oana Toiu and Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. Between 5 and 8 March, a Romanian economic delegation led by State Secretary Clara Volintiru paid a visit to India, including representatives of the business sector, state-owned companies and applied research institutions, the press release also says.

After participating in the Foreign Affairs Council meeting, Toiu will return to Bucharest to attend the meetings of the parliamentary specialist committees to support the draft budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Oana Ghita; EN - writing by: Adina Panaitescu)