NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Joane said on Monday that the situation with measurements on the Bastro Canal and the export of grain from Ukraine, which is causing discontent among Romanian farmers, is a “sensitive” topic and should be resolved through bilateral dialogue.

“We need to be very careful and solve this calmly, methodically bilaterally and in a broader sense. (…) We have high inflation, high energy prices, because Russia invaded Ukraine. We have problems with grain due to the fact that Russia invaded Ukraine. (…) And the idea is that we are associated with Ukraine, not with Russia, the problem itself is a sensitive political issue, and all of us, led by the Ukrainians, must find a common answer,” he said on Antena 3.

“There was also the topic of the Romanian minority in Ukraine, which remains sensitive. What I also informed the Ukrainian side, we will have a meeting in Bucharest with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Kuleba and the Minister of Defense Reznikov, I will also represent NATO in Bucharest. What happened? It has to be very careful and it has to be resolved calmly, methodically bilaterally and more broadly,” Joanne added.

At the same time, he urged to avoid “topics that risk causing in the Romanian or Western mind an unnatural association between the consequences of the war and the situation in Ukraine.

“We must be very careful, because transferring the socio-economic problem to Romanian farmers, to Romanian patriots, to the interests of Romania, Poland, Slovakia or anyone else. And the idea is that we are associated with Ukraine, not with Russia, the problem itself is a sensitive political issue, and we all, led by the Ukrainians, must find a common answer,” he explained after being asked about the approach to the situation. regarding the Bastro canal and the export of Ukrainian grain, especially wheat.

Mircea Joane emphasized the need for NATO unity in supporting Ukraine

The Deputy Secretary General of NATO also spoke about Poland’s decision regarding grain from Ukraine.

“Therefore, what the leadership of Poland did during Zelenskyi’s visit to Warsaw a week ago, what they agreed on, and I believe that this is the way forward, how these grains, which Romania, let’s say, millions of tons, mean a lot, we accepted them for transit to African markets. It was an agreement to go back to the original agreement,” he said.

“I think that what the Poles did bilaterally with the Ukrainians is an issue that can be reproduced in the case… This is not directly the work of NATO, but my job as a political leader of NATO is to preserve the unity of the alliance in support of Ukraine. Therefore, these topics should be considered quickly and not necessarily in an irritated tone, but firmly say – let’s preserve unity. It is between us, but the Romanians were extremely supportive of the Ukrainians at the beginning of this war,” he claimed.

“Look at the polls – there was support, today it suffered. These topics are sensitive, so it is good to approach them constructively and jointly search for an answer,” he added.

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