Romania risked courting Russian displeasure on Monday when it signed an agreement boosting military and other forms of cooperation with Ukraine – whose new government Russia refuses to recognise.

Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean and his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Deshchitsia, signed the agreement in Kiev, days before the Black Sea region of Crimea is due to hold a referendum on March 16 on joining Russia.

Ukraine has denounced the referendum as illegal and has said it will not give up the peninsula, which is home to Russia’s Black Sea fleet.

During his visit, Corlatean paid tribute to the memory of Ukrainians who died in the protests against now ousted president Viktor Yanukovych in Kiev.

Romania, which has a 694km-long border with Ukraine, has already recognized the new authorities in Kiev as a legitimate government and has asked Russia to pull its forces out of Crimea.

At the same time, Romania has asked the Ukraine to respect the rights of national minorities, including the Romanian minority.

Romania is worried that it may face additional economic problems as a result of the prolonged crisis in Ukraine. Any potential debt restructuring in Ukraine, or eventual EU trade reprisals against Russia, could affect Romania’s own exports.

There are also fears that Romania could be affected if Russia cuts off natural gas supplies to Ukraine, a recent report issued by the Bucharest-based lender, BCR, noted.

Last year, Romania sold goods worth 750 million euro in Ukraine, up 10 percent compared to the same period in 2012. At the same time, 11 per cent of Romania’s gas necessities are covered by imported Russian gas.

While Romania and Ukraine now appear to be edging closer to one another, relations between the two states have not been cordial in recent years.

In 2009, the International Court of Justice ruled in favour of Romania in a long-running maritime dispute between the two countries over a tiny islet on the Black Sea, with access to potentially vast reserves of oil and gas.