March 21, 2022

A round up of local and international news.

Newsroom, 21.03.2022, 13:50

EU. Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu is
attending a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels. Talks are
looking, among others, at the security situation in the Black Sea region following
the Russian aggression against Ukraine and ways to provide immediate and
substantial assistance to the Republic of Moldova. The Romanian minister is expected
to reiterate the need for the European Union to reaffirm the European prospects
of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia. At Romania’s proposal, EU
officials will also have talks, on the sidelines of the Council, with Moldova’s
foreign minister Nicu Popescu to discuss additional assistance for Moldova, which
is struggling with a large influx of Ukrainian refugees, and ways to enhance
its resilience. EU defence ministers are also meeting in Brussels, with their
agenda including a meeting with EU foreign ministers to discuss and adopt the
Strategic Compass.

Ukraine. Ukraine rejected an ultimatum from
Russia to give up the Black Sea port of Mariupol, which has been under siege
from the Russian troops and the target of constant shelling. The capital Kyiv
has also come under renewed shelling, while the southern port of Odessa has
seen increased activity from Russian drones surveying the city and the surrounding
area. Peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations are due to resume
today, with Turkey’s foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu saying Ukraine and
Russia are nearing agreement on critical issues.

Refugees.
More than half a million Ukrainian refugees have crossed the border into
Romania since the start of the Russian invasion on 24th February.
80,000 of them have stayed and 4,000 have applied for asylum. Siret, in the
north-east, is one of the main border crossing points between Ukraine and
Romania. Nearby, in Suceava, the European Union set up a logistics centre for
the provision of medicine and other type of humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Summits.
NATO, the European Union and the G7 are meeting this week to agree on the West’s
response to the most serious humanitarian and security crisis in Europe since
WWII. US president Joe Biden is travelling to Europe to attend the three summits
on Wednesday and Thursday and visit Poland on Friday.

Pandemic. The number of Covid infections is again surging in many parts
of the world. Austria is the first EU country to reintroduce compulsory face
mask wearing indoors, with isolation rules also about to be revised. China is facing
its biggest rise in Covid infections, while France saw a 36% rise in new cases
this past week compared with the previous week. In Romania, all Covid restrictions
were lifted from 9th March. (CM)