President Nicusor Dan said on Tuesday in Helsinki, ahead of attending the EU Eastern Flank Summit, that he is ‘pessimistic’ about Russia’s intention to conclude peace in the near future.

‘What is important for us is to provide Ukraine with the means to have leverage in the negotiations it is conducting. This means the financial capacity to continue waging the war and it means security guarantees for the immediate post-war period. Personally, I am quite pessimistic about Russia’s intention to achieve peace in the immediate future, but on our side we must be prepared to offer Ukraine all the necessary mechanisms to negotiate this,’ the head of state said.

Referring to the meeting he is attending in Finland, he said that within both NATO and the European Union there are several programmes for the Eastern Flank, and that ‘the purpose of this meeting is to put into operation these programmes among the Eastern Flank countries, and in particular the European programme dedicated to the Eastern Flank.’

Moreover, Nicusor Dan highlighted that within NATO and correspondingly in plans approved by the Supreme Council for National Defence (CSAT), ‘all possible scenarios exist, but what is important for us now is, on the one hand, to support Ukraine in maintaining the front line and, throughout the coming years, to arm ourselves in such a way as to deter any potential future aggression.’ AGERPRES