russia's terrorist attack on the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant will definitely be felt by all countries that have direct access to our seas. But most of all, it will be felt by our neighbors - the countries of the Black Sea region. This was emphasized by Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strilets during a telephone conversation with Minister of Environment, Water and Forests of Romania Mircea Fechet.

Ruslan Strilets congratulated the Romanian Minister on his appointment and expressed confidence in continuing an active dialogue in the framework of establishing friendly relations between Ukraine and Romania.

"In November 2022, Ukraine and Romania signed an Agreement that almost put an end to the 2004 conflict case on interstate consultations under the Espoo Convention. I count on Romania's full support in closing it. We plan to reach a full agreement between our countries in December of this year on the construction of the Danube-Black Sea Deep Waterway. After all, Ukraine has already moved to the second stage of cross-border consultations on this issue and in May sent Romania documents on environmental impact assessment. We are currently awaiting comments and suggestions from our Romanian colleagues," said Ruslan Strilets.

The Minister expressed hope that the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources would soon sign a Memorandum of Cooperation in the management of the Prut, Siret and Danube Delta river basins together with the European Commission, Romanian and Moldovan colleagues.

"This is exactly the document that I agreed to sign at the COP15 in Montreal at a meeting with European Commissioner Virgirijus Sinkevičius, Moldovan Minister of Environment Iordanca-Rodica Iordanov and Secretary of State  at the Romanian Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests Ionuț Sorin Banciu," said Ruslan Strilets.

Minister Ruslan Strilets and Minister Mircea Fechet agreed to constantly exchange information on the environmental state of the Black Sea. This will help Ukraine to record its pollution as a result of the terror attack. Mr. Mircea Fechet assured that all monitoring data on the Black Sea will be constantly transferred to Ukraine.

According to Minister Mircea Fechet, Romania does not currently record any pollution of the Black Sea waters near its shores. However, they will continue to carry out relevant monitoring activities.

In conclusion, Ruslan Strilets thanked Mr. Mircea Fechet for his solidarity with Ukraine and invited him to participate in the development and implementation of the further plan for the restoration of our protected areas.