00:00The Russian drone incursion this morning, was this a mistake or a provocation?
00:05The Russian incursion is due to the unprovoked attack that Russia is ongoing against Ukraine.
00:13It was part of a drone attack against Ukrainian civilian and military infrastructure,
00:19unprovoked and the illegal war that Russia is having at our border.
00:23We do have the longest border with the war, and we do consider it the full responsibility
00:29of the Russian Federation, that our civilians were put at risk.
00:34And two, Romanians required medical attention.
00:38It's a residential building that needed to be evacuated as a consequence of the drone.
00:44We do have the final confirmation from the teams on the ground that the drone is a Russian drone
00:50and it was carrying explosives.
00:51We do reaffirm our solidarity with Ukraine.
00:56Ukraine, the president, has been very clear on the fact that we are aware and clear on
01:03the fact that supporting the resilience and the security is also a factor of support for
01:09our own security and for the Allied space.
01:11Minister, while I have you, the news has come in recently over the last few hours that there
01:15will be a closure of the consulate in Konstanta, as well as the expulsion of the Russian consul.
01:21Why, Konstanta, and what reaction do you expect from Moscow regarding this news?
01:27Yes, we just had the National Security Council and we have decided to close the Russian consulate
01:33in Konstanta and declare persona non grata, the general counsel.
01:37He will have 72 hours to leave Romanian territory.
01:41We consider this a clear message to Russia that it is unacceptable and that the security
01:47and safety of our citizens is our prime concern.
01:50And Minister, while I have you, how do you think that Russia will respond to this?
01:56We have summoned the Russian ambassador to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today.
02:00We do believe Russia will continue to do what Russia is doing, which is to try to spread
02:05lies across our societies.
02:09But that is as unacceptable as the war itself.
02:12And Minister, we've seen a spate of drone incursions rattle the Baltics over recent weeks.
02:19We've also heard chatter and very public statements from politicians regarding invoking and triggering
02:25NATO's Article 4.
02:27What is the holdup?
02:28Why would this not be triggered now?
02:30We already have a set plan for consultations within NATO.
02:35It's a meeting that Romania has requested for a while on maritime security.
02:40And of course, now it will also be focused on the Danube and the eastern flank.
02:44And we do have clarity on the capabilities that are needed on the eastern flank.
02:48SACUR has issued his decision in terms of the need that gather among allies.
02:55We increase the deterrence and defence here on the eastern flank.
02:58We also saw a statement come in early Friday morning from the US ambassador to the EU,
03:02Matthew Whittaker, stating that Washington stands in support of Romania.
03:08However, he did not attribute these drones to Russia.
03:12Do you expect full unity from the NATO military alliance when it comes to condemning Russia?
03:18Well, attribution is our responsibility, and we have done that clearly.
03:23And we do expect solidarity among allies.
03:26We thank Ambassador Matthew Whittaker.
03:28Actually, Ambassador Matthew Whittaker has been in Romania.
03:32He knows our army and defence very well.
03:35And we do have a close diplomatic relationship, and we're grateful for his public stance.
03:39What we've also seen from these drone incursions are those politicians, the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen herself
03:46stating that this requires a firm response.
03:49But are these responses firm enough?
03:51This recent incursion in Romania seems to be another testament that perhaps it is not.
03:58We have seen a show of support that is very important because it is always important to reaffirm that the
04:04security of one is the security of all.
04:06And in terms of next steps, as I have said, we have had this clear decision at the diplomatic level
04:12on Romania's side to close the consulate.
04:15But we need to continue also in terms of common pressure.
04:18I have spoken with Kayakalas in the morning in terms of accelerating the pace for the 21st package of sanctions,
04:24and we see there a clear support.
04:27And we have seen clear statements from leaders in Europe, but also outside of the European Union.
04:33We just had conversations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs across different strategic partners, and we will continue to do
04:41so.
04:42We will move this conversation to the Security Council of the United Nations, and we do have a pre-planned
04:49consultation among allies as well.
04:52And what do you want in the 21st package of sanctions against Russia regarding these drones?
05:00We do consider the 21st package of sanctions as an instrument to put pressure because we do think security of
05:07Romania and the security of Europeans is best served by making sure we do reach an end at the war
05:13at the border.
05:14But have you asked for a specific component as part of this package to attack or be more aggressive on
05:20these drones?
05:22We do have specific requests in terms of sanctions packages, and we do are working in terms of attribution also
05:30for sanctions that will target types of hybrid interferences from Russia also at the cybersecurity level.
05:39Thank you so much, Minister.
05:41Thank you so much, Minister.
Comments