The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, spoke on Monday with the Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luminiţa Odobescu, announced the spokesperson of the State Department, Matthew Miller. The conversation comes after Russia attacked Ukrainian ports on the Danube near Romania.
“Secretary Blinken and Secretary of State Odobescu discussed the strong strategic partnership between the US and Romania and the opportunities for continued bilateral and multilateral cooperation, including collective security and unwavering support for Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, global food security and security cooperation in the Black Sea,” spokesman Matthew Miller said in a press release.
The discussion of the head of the American diplomacy with the Romanian Foreign Minister, Luminiţa Odobescu, who was in office last month, intervenes in the conditions where Russia bombed with drones, during the night, the Port of Reni in Ukraine, located across the Danube from Galaţi.
The heads of Romanian and American diplomacy discussed the latest developments in the Black Sea, including the effects of the Russian Federation’s decision to suspend participation in the Black Sea Grain Export Initiative. The Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs and the US Secretary of State condemned the recent attacks by the Russian Federation on civilians and river and maritime infrastructure, as well as the cynical way in which the Russian Federation affects global food security.
As a result, they agreed to maintain close coordination, bilaterally and Euro-Atlantic, as well as with like-minded partners, with a view to continuing solid support for Ukraine in the long term, including in terms of the export of agricultural products. At the same time, Foreign Minister Luminița Odobescu presented the measures already adopted by Romania, as well as the measures considered in the short and medium term to support the transit capacity for agricultural products from Ukraine. Also, the Romanian official pleaded for the continuation of consistent support for strengthening the resilience of the Republic of Moldova.
Romanian authorities take the first actions following Reni Port’s attack
Several ships under the Romanian flag, located in the port of Reni, requested, on Monday, permission to re-enter Romanian territorial waters, following the drone attack last night. Also, the Romanian side will release more mooring berths in the Galati port for ships going to Ukraine, according to hotnews.ro.
Vlăduț Brânza, captain-in-chief of the Galați Port Authority, told HotNews that “on Monday morning, six or seven Romanian-flagged ships in Port Reni requested permission to move five nautical miles further, as a safety measure.
At the same time, the fluvial port authorities in Galati requested information from the port authority in Ukraine to find out if they still have enough operating berths in the Reni port.
Moreover, the Romanian side will release more berths in the Galati port for ships going to Ukraine.
It is the closest strike recorded since the beginning of the war started by the Russian Federation in Ukraine to the territory of Romania. We are talking about a distance of about 200 meters, basically, across the Danube from Romanian territory, in the Reni Port area – it is a Ukrainian port on the Danube, located across the river about 200 meters from Romanian territory, about 10 kilometers from the port city of Galati.
The powerful explosion took place right next to the Romanian border, after Russian forces bombed the Odessa region again. Missiles and drones would have hit the ports of Reni and Ismail, located on the Danube, near the Romanian-Ukrainian border.
According to military correspondents, oil tanks, weapons depots and NATO equipment were attacked. In addition, a grain warehouse was destroyed and four employees were injured, the military command of southern Ukraine announced on social networks.