Forty-three states at a OSCE meeting have expressed their support and solidarity with Romania, expressing compassion for casualties after a Russian drone struck an apartment block in southeastern Romania.
Romania’s partners strongly condemned Russia’s aggressive and irresponsible conduct, saying it affects the security of the entire OSCE region. In addition to statements made by participating states at the Tuesday meeting, common positions of member states, European Union candidates, as well as of the Bucharest 9 (B9) and Nordic-Baltic 8 (NB8) groups, were also presented.
The joint special meeting of the Security Cooperation Forum and the OSCE Permanent Council was convened Tuesday following the violation of Romania’s airspace on the night of May 28-29 in which two people were injured and 70 people evacuated.
At Romania’s initiative, 14 OSCE participating states, members of the Bucharest 9 (B9) and Nordic-Baltic 8 (NB8) groups, requested a joint extraordinary meeting of the Security Cooperation Forum and the OSCE Permanent Council, to discuss the regional security implications of the violation of Romania’s national airspace.
Romania highlighted the seriousness of the incident, which took place amid Russian strikes on Ukrainian Danube ports. The incident took place in the broader context of the Russian Federation’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Romania has presented solid evidence demonstrating that the responsibility for this incident belongs exclusively to the Russian Federation.
In the joint statement (B9+NB8), these incidents are condemned, showing that they show a persistent pattern of irresponsible conduct by Russia, which bears full responsibility both for its war against Ukraine and for these incidents that are a direct consequence of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s blatant disinformation and intimidation campaigns were rejected and a commitment to counter Russia’s malign activities, including cyber threats and its hybrid actions, were expressed.
Together with its partners, Romania reiterated its firm commitment to continue multidimensional support for Ukraine, including with a view to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace, in accordance with international law and the Helsinki Final Act.
Romania will continue to support the use of OSCE instruments to document and hold the Russian Federation accountable for the crimes committed against Ukraine.
UN reiterates warnings over ‘potential spillover’ of Ukraine war after drone incident in Romania
