Foreign and defense ministers and officials from Ukraine, Moldova and Romania pose for the media after issuing a joint communique on the need to strengthen security in their Black Sea region to counter threats posed by Russian aggression, following a trilateral meeting in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, April 13, 2023.

BUCHAREST, Romania  – Neighboring Romania, Ukraine and Moldova signed cooperation agreements Thursday in the Romanian capital after a trilateral meeting on ways to strengthen security in their Black Sea region to counter threats posed by Russian aggression.

The Black Sea Security Conference in Bucharest brought together foreign and defense ministers, government officials and international partners from the three countries. The aim was to address the extensive impact that Moscow’s war in Ukraine is having on the region.

NATO member Romania’s Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu called Russia “the most direct and serious threat” to the Black Sea region and the Western alliance and said war-torn Ukraine and embattled Moldova are “essential for our future European security.”

“Instead of peace and stability, the Black Sea region has become the main target of Russian aggression,” he argued, adding that a strong NATO presence there “is mandatory.”

After signing the agreements, which aim to boost political, economic and security cooperation between the three nations, Aurescu said it “registers the fact that we have similar visions.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba – who spoke at the Bucharest meeting via video link_, called the war “a bleeding wound in the middle of Europe” and noted that a safety net must be sought for countries in the region that “feel threatened by the loose maniac.”

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