The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, hosted, on Monday, together with the President of the Munich Security Conference, Christoph Heusgen, the welcome session of the Munich Leaders Meeting (MLM), an event that takes place on Monday and Tuesday in Bucharest, according to Agerpres.

The event was officially opened by President Klaus Iohannis.

MLM is part of the annual program of the prestigious Munich Security Conference, being organized in preparation for the Munich Security Conference in February 2023, one year after the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and taking place for the first time in history in South-East Europe, states the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) in a release sent to Agerpres.

Over 75 high-level guests from more than 25 countries, including Romania, are participating in the two-day meeting, including current and former officials, prime ministers, as well as foreign ministers from Albania, Croatia, Slovenia, North Macedonia, the leader of the opposition in Belarus, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and many others.

Minister Bogdan Aurescu welcomed the holding of this prestigious conference in Bucharest, as a recognition of Romania’s unprecedented efforts in support of Ukraine and in countering the effects of Russia’s war against the neighboring state, as well as the fundamental role of our country as a provider of security and stability in the region of the Black Sea, respectively of the strategic importance of the Black Sea, including in the context of the illegal and unjustified war waged by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

Also, according to the quoted source, the head of Romanian diplomacy welcomed the holding of this meeting before the NATO ministerial meeting, hosted in Bucharest on Tuesday and Wednesday, stressing that, for three days, the capital of Romania will be the capital of regional, European and Euro-Atlantic diplomacy.

The Romanian Foreign Minister also referred to the strategic importance of the Black Sea region for regional, European and Euro-Atlantic security and emphasized Romania’s assessments of Russia’s provocative and destabilizing actions in the region – including by artificially fueling the protracted conflicts in the Republic of Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine.

In this context, he pleaded for the need to establish a concrete list of priority transatlantic actions (transatlantic to-do list) to strengthen security in the Black Sea, as an area of strategic importance for Euro-Atlantic security. The efficiency of this priority list is based on the solidity of the transatlantic relationship, on the strengthening of complementarity between NATO and the EU, as well as on the strengthening of regional cooperation and regional responsibility.

At the end of the meeting, the Minister of Foreign Affairs had a bilateral meeting with Ambassador Christoph Heusgen, the president of the Munich Security Conference, during which he reiterated his appreciation for the holding of this prestigious event in Bucharest, as well as for the substance of the discussions that took place in this format, which also contributes to the orientation of the lines addressed during the Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the NATO member states.

Also, the two exchanged views on the regional security situation, with an emphasis on the Black Sea area, as well as on the thematic priorities for the Munich Security Conference, which will take place in February 2023 and which will also be based on the ideas and conclusions of the MLM meeting in Bucharest. The two officials also discussed the need to hold Russia accountable, based on the instruments of international law, with Minister Bogdan Aurescu highlighting the importance of identifying the most effective and viable legal channels in this regard.

Agerpres