Radio România Internațional

Tag: Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

  • Bucharest, on the situation in Syria

    Bucharest, on the situation in Syria

    The President of
    Romania Klaus Iohannis and the Romanian Foreign Ministry did not hesitate to
    express the country’s position with respect to the Western operation in Syria,
    this past weekend, initiated a week after the chemical attack in Douma that
    Damascus is thought to have orchestrated. Shortly after the joint operation of
    the USA, UK and France, President Iohannis reiterated Romania’s solidarity with
    the actions of its strategic partners. Romania once again condemns the use of
    chemical weapons in Syria, which, the President said, is unacceptable. In turn,
    the Foreign Ministry describes the West’s move as a firm reaction to the
    atrocities that made so many victims among civilians in Douma, who are already
    struggling with the devastation caused by a war that must be ended as soon as
    possible.


    Bucharest
    reiterates the need for a solution to the conflict in Syria, which caused
    suffering among civilians, and says it is vital for all parties to continue to
    support actively the UN actions designed to put an end to this crisis. The
    Foreign Ministry also argues that the chemical attack must be investigated
    immediately, independently and impartially, and requests that the perpetrators
    be held liable.


    The French
    Defence Minister Florence Parly has stated that the targets of the operation in
    Damascus were the main research centre and two production centres that are part
    of Bashar al-Assad regime’s clandestine chemical weapons programme. After the
    operation, the US President Donald Trump used the phrase mission accomplished,
    while Washington’s representative at the UN, Nikki Haley, told an emergency
    meeting of the Security Council that the US was ready for new strikes, in the
    event of another chemical attack in Syria.


    In turn, British
    PM Theresa May said there had been no alternatives to a military strike, and
    described the Western operation as limited and targeted.


    Meanwhile,
    international experts working with the Organisation for the Prohibition of
    Chemical Weapons Sunday has initiated an investigation into the presumed
    chemical attack in Douma, which killed scores of people. Fieldwork will likely
    be difficult, as investigators are expected to conduct their research, a week
    after the events, in an area under the control of Damascus authorities and of
    the Russian military police and devastated by a 5-year long siege.


    According to the
    World Health Organisation, nearly 500 people in Douma have symptoms consistent
    with exposure to toxic chemicals. (Translated by Ana Maria Popescu)



  • March 19, 2018

    March 19, 2018

    DEBATES – The Romanian MPs with the Parliament’s special committee on the justice laws are today resuming debates on the status of judges and prosecutors and judicial organisation. After the projects are put in line with the Constitutional Court’s decisions a final vote will be given in Parliament. The Power and the Opposition have had divergent opinions on an article referring to the elimination of the head of state from the procedure of appointing and revoking the leadership of the High Court of Cassation and Justice. The MPs have analysed around 20 articles that the Constitutional Court judges deem unconstitutional.





    ELECTION – Vladimir Putin won on Sunday a 4th presidential mandate with 77% of the votes, in the context of a turnout rate of over 67%. The Radio Romania correspondent to Moscow has reminded that Russia has for the first time organised presidential elections in Crimea, where the Kremlin leader, who has been at the helm of Russia for 18 year as president or prime minister, has won over 90% of the votes. The West as well as Kiev have said they would not recognise the elections in the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by the Russians in 2014. Vladimir Putin will rule Russia for another six years, in the context of very tense relations between the West and the East. The conflict in Syria, the Ukrainian crisis, the suspicions of Russian interference with Donald Trump’s election as US President and the recent accusations by London, of Moscow having poisoned a Russian spy on the territory of the UK have done nothing but increase tensions.





    INVESTIGATION – International chemical weapons experts have today arrived in the UK to collect samples of a nerve agent used to poison former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury on March 4. Technical experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons are collecting samples of the toxin, which London says is a Soviet-designed military grade nerve agent called Novichok. President Vladimir Putin has rejected allegations that Russia was behind the attack. The incident has triggered a crisis, with Britain and Russia expelling diplomats in tit-for-tat measures.





    WEATHER — Romania continues to be affected by a sharp decrease in temperatures, by up to 15 degrees Celsius compared to the multi-annual average, according to a code yellow alert. Weather experts say that the bad weather will stay the whole week and have warned that, after the yellow warning for heavy rain, wind and low temperatures in place for the eastern half of Romania, rain will gradually turn into drizzle and snow. The National Road Infrastructure Administration has announced that one thousand special vehicles have been used to spread non-slip substances in order to ensure normal traffic on the road sectors affected by the bad weather. Most problems have been reported in the north of the country, where it has been snowing heavily and the roads have been covered in a thick layer of snow, which could not be removed because of the wind.





    BOOK FAIR — The Leipzig Book Fair came to an end this past weekend. Romania was the guest of honour, and under the motto “Zoom in Romania” it organised over 70 events to promote contemporary Romanian writers. For 4 days, readers had an opportunity to meet several Romanian authors already present in the German market, such as Mircea Cărtărescu, Norman Manea, Nora Iuga and Filip Florian, as well as young writers like Lavinia Branişte and Bogdan-Alexandru Stănescu. During the event, more than 40 works translated from Romanian were promoted. The Leipzig Book Fair is one of the most important such events in Europe and the world. Meanwhile, Romania is also taking part these days, alongside 45 other countries, in the 38th Paris Book Fair. “Romania, as you have never read it” is the motto of the Romanian stand, which presents more than 50 recent releases and over 20 events. (Translated by Elena Enache)