Florin Cîțu, asked whether Romania should support Ukraine with armaments: we agreed that any effort, even if it includes armaments, should not be wasted at this time

Florin Cîțu said when asked whether Romania should also support Ukraine with armament, that he agrees that any effort should be made to support Ukraine.

„I said generally yes if it’s a decision. You know very well that 40 representatives of states discussed at the Ramstein base and the decision was to support Ukraine with arms as well and we agreed that any effort, even if it includes arms, should not be wasted at this point. The good thing is that there is this turning point and the administration in Ukraine and President Zelenski are now looking optimistically and talking about rebuilding Ukraine. I can tell you that they have put forward some very ambitious deadlines. We are talking about EUR 90 billion invested in infrastructure that they want to rebuild in two years. They are focused on bringing back those who have left their homes, refugees, and that’s why they had very well documented – 300,000 families who lost their homes and they had this priority. Ukraine is already looking to the future, is looking optimistically, and needs help on the reconstruction side,” said Florin Cîțu, who was asked Thursday in Parliament if there were any talks during his visit to Kyiv about Romania sending arms to Ukraine.

He reiterated the need for new sanctions against Russia.

” In terms of the other side of the defense, it is clear that there is a need to be supported to defend themselves. I have been arguing since day one, since 24 February, that sanctions against Russia need to get tougher and tougher. I know there may be some discomfort for us today if we impose sanctions on Russia, in terms of the energy crisis, etc. But what we gain, our security, our independence, and the fact that Russia will not be able to attack any country in the future are much more important I think. And this has been a message that I have always sent,” added the Senate President.

Minister of National Defence Vasile Dîncu participated on Tuesday in the first meeting of the Ukraine Defense Consultative Group, hosted at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, by US Secretary of Defence Lloyd J. Austin III. The Romanian Minister had a brief meeting with Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov during which he reiterated Romania’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and stressed the urgent need for the unconditional opening of humanitarian corridors.

The United States and its allies are to meet monthly to examine how to strengthen Ukraine’s military capabilities against Russia, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Tuesday following a meeting with representatives of 40 countries in Germany.