Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu had a phone conversation on Tuesday with his Latvian counterpart Edgars Rinkevics, with the main topic of discussion being the process of Romania’s accession to Schengen, the Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) informed in a release sent to Agerpres.

In this context, the quoted source shows that Aurescu conveyed the special appreciation for Latvia’s constant support for Romania’s accession to the Schengen area and presented in detail the recent steps undertaken at diplomatic level in order to achieve this objective in the dialogue with the Austrian side, with the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union and with counterparts from most of the member states.

Edgars Rinkevics reiterated Latvia’s „firm support” for Romania joining the Schengen, „appreciating that there is no reason for it to be unreasonably delayed, taking into account that Romania meets all the necessary criteria,” the MAE mentions.

The Latvian minister thanked that Romania resumed, this year, its participation in the air policing missions of the Baltic states.

In his turn, the Romanian minister welcomed the fact that the regular direct flights between the capitals of Romania and Latvia have been resumed.

The two ministers also exchanged views on the prospect of NATO’s enlargement process through the accession of Sweden and Finland, which both countries actively support, including through diplomatic efforts.

Agerpres