The presidents of Romania and Ukraine signed a security cooperation agreement on July 11, on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington, Romania's Presidential Administration announced.

Although the text of the document elaborates on the measures aimed at addressing the Russian invasion ("any future invasion of Russia," more specifically), including measures aimed at "raising the costs to the Russian Federation of its ongoing aggression," the agreement is pictured by Romania's authorities as having very specific limitations.

Romania thus joined the other allies and partners who have already signed this type of bilateral document with Ukraine, implementing the G7 Declaration adopted on the sidelines of the 2023 NATO Summit, according to a note of Romania's Presidency summarizing the outcome of the NATO summit in Washington.

The agreement is similar to those signed by other states, targeting areas of cooperation with relevance for strengthening Ukraine's ability to defend itself and combat Russian aggression, under the provisions of the UN Charter, and for strengthening Romania's security, according to a press release published by the state news agency Agerpres that focuses on the limitations of the agreement.

Besides systematizing the existing cooperation between Romania and Ukraine in various fields, the agreement "establishes at the same time a political framework for the continuation of this cooperation and for identifying a series of priority directions of action, for the benefit of both parties and the benefit of regional security," according to the release.

The document signed in Washington has strictly political, not legal value, Agerpres points out.

The agreement expressly states that commitments and cooperation are implemented in accordance with applicable national, European, and international legislation.

At the same time, all activities arising from this agreement are carried out within the limits of existing resources, taking into account the interests of the Romanian side.

Ukraine has concluded agreements with 23 signatories of the G7+ Declaration, including the European Union, and continues negotiations with all other signatories.

(Photo: Presidency.ro)

iulian@romania-insider.com