Lavrov: Romania is Russia’s important partner in southeastern Europe

Russia considers Romania an important partner in Southeastern Europe, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after talks with his Romanian counterpart Titus Corlatean on Tuesday. “We’ve held constructive and substantial talks,” he said. “Both sides confirmed their intention to improve common atmosphere of Russian-Romanian relations, to develop a positive agenda and to overcome some difficulties that our relations have been facing over the past years,” he said. Russia wants these bilateral relations “to develop steadily, predictably,” he said. “It wants to develop mutually advantageous cooperation and to tap its potential in full.” The ministers welcomed stronger political dialogue, including that between the two countries’ foreign ministries, cooperation within the framework of the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Council of Europe and the Russia-NATO Council. Lavrov said a plan of consultations between the Russian and Romanian foreign ministries for 2013-2014 signed on Tuesday will also give a fresh impetus to cooperation. He also recalled that the two countries signed an agreement on the creation of cultural centres and a programme for cooperation in culture, education, mass media, sport, youth and tourism. “I am confident that these documents will help enhance human contacts and interaction at the level of civil society,” he said. Another important issue on the talks’ agenda was cooperation in the Balkans. “We confirmed our close approaches to the situation in the region,” he said. “Both Russia and Romania are interested in long-term stabilization of this region and in development of good neighbourly relations and multilateral cooperation between the Balkan states that should be based on mutual respect to each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”