March 16, 2022 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 16.03.2022, 19:59

Chisinau. Romanian
President Klaus Iohannis and Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca were received on Wednesday
afternoon in Chisinau by the President and Prime Minister of the Republic of
Moldova Maia Sandu and Natalia Gavriliţa respectively. Iohannis stressed that Romania stood by the
side of the Republic of Moldova as always, and appreciated the efforts made by
the country in the context of the war in Ukraine. You can count on us. And,
besides Romania, all the European and Euro-Atlantic states are in solidarity
with you, the Romanian head of state also said. In turn, the President of the
Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, stated that her country needed the support of
its partners to overcome the challenges caused by the war. What is happening
in Ukraine is terrible. The military actions have destabilized the entire
region, and the challenges caused by this war are also putting pressure on the
Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu underlined. She said that 340,000 people had
crossed the border between Moldova and Ukraine since the start of the war,
leaving 100,000 refugees in Moldova. We recall that, on March 3, Maia Sandu
signed the application for the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the
European Union. Romania has announced it will fully support Moldova’s European
aspirations. As regards the refugees situation in Romania, more than 15 thousand Ukrainians crossed Romania’s borders on
Tuesday, in 24 hours, according to the Romanian border police. Since the start
of the crisis, until March 15th, some 440 thousand Ukrainians entered Romania.

Ukraine. The
International Court of Justice in The Hague, the UN’s highest court, on
Wednesday ordered Russia to immediately cease its military operations in
Ukraine. The court had been notified by Kyiv, but Moscow boycotted the hearings
and rejected the ICJ’s jurisdiction over the case. Although the Court’s
verdicts are binding, the international court has no executive powers to effectively
enforce its rulings. Also on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
addressed the US Congress via video call, again calling for support for the
security of his country’s airspace, for humanitarian purposes. He pointed out
that Ukraine still needed defensive weapons and aircraft to cope with the
Russian invasion. Zelensky showed the Congress footage of the atrocities his
people were going through and called for more support. Today the Ukrainian
people are defending not only Ukraine. We are fighting for the values of Europe
and the world, sacrificing our lives in the name of the future the
Ukrainian leader said. US President Joe Biden confirmed on Wednesday that an
additional 800 million dollar worth of military aid would be sent to Ukraine,
including drones and anti-missile systems. On Tuesday, the US Senate
unanimously passed a resolution condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin as a
war criminal. Putin said on Wednesday that the military operation in Ukraine
was a success and that Moscow would not let the country become a bridgehead
for aggressive actions against Russia.

NATO. Secretary-General Jens
Stoltenberg has announced a further strengthening of the Alliance’s eastern
flank and has ruled out the deployment of ground or air troops in Ukraine. He
spoke at the meeting of the defense ministers of the member countries, which
was also attended by the Romanian Defense Minister Vasile Dîncu. They decided
to change NATO’s long term posture in the context of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Stoltenberg explained that the change was necessary since the whole security
situation in Europe had changed and urged the Allies to invest at least 2% of
the gross domestic product in defense. He warned that Russia’s willingness to
use force should not be underestimated.

Negotiations. Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that although negotiations with the
Ukrainian side have been difficult, there is some hope for a compromise. He
said he drew that conclusion based on the views of members of his country’s
delegation, as well as some of Ukraine’s representatives in the talks,
including advisers to President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to the Radio
Romania correspondent in Moscow, regarding the condition of demilitarization,
Russia – Lavrov said – is ready to agree with Ukraine on the types of weapons
that do not pose a threat to Moscow. On Wednesday, the head of the Russian
delegation to the negotiations with Ukraine, Vladimir Medinsky, said that the
talks were difficult, but Russia wanted to reach peace as soon as possible and
conclude an agreement that would last for generations. Volodymyr Zelensky said
Russia’s position sounded more realistic, but added that it would take time for
the decisions to benefit Ukraine.

Meetings. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis will meet, on Thursday,
in Bucharest, with his Estonian counterpart, Alar Karis. Also on Thursday, the
Romanian head of state will receive the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
There will be official and one-on-one talks, Romanian-Estonian and
Romanian-Spanish, followed by press statements.(MI)