Navalny – On Friday evening, hundreds of people gathered in Europe and the USA, in front of the Russian embassies, to pay tribute to Alexei Navalny, the number one opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Moscow announced, on the same day, the death of Navalny, at the age of 47, in a penitentiary colony in the Arctic, where he was serving a 19-year prison sentence. In Russia, a human rights organization said that more than 100 people were detained at rallies in memory of the Russian dissident. Most of those arrested are from St. Petersburg, Putin’s hometown. At political level, dignitaries from all over the world, including Romania, expressed their sadness and concern over the death of Alexei Navalny. The international community has lost a brave fighter for freedom and rights, said the Romanian president, Klaus Iohannis, who asked Russia for a transparent and comprehensive investigation. The Romanian Foreign Ministry condemned the repeated violations of international law by the Russian regime and reiterated the importance of observing fundamental human rights and freedoms without delay.
Elections – The leaders of the governing coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party – PSD and the National Liberal Party – PNL resume, on Sunday, the negotiations regarding the possible merging of the elections that are scheduled this year in Romania. If an agreement is not reached, the elections will be organized on time, said the social-democratic PM Marcel Ciolacu. The liberals insist on holding the elections for the European Parliament together with the ones for the local public administration, on June 9. The arguments put forward are the reduction of expenses and a greater voter turnout. The social democrats demand a clear calendar for the entire electoral year and propose, in addition, to merge the parliamentary elections with the second round of the presidential election. The opposition claims that the discussions on the issue of merging the elections do nothing but distract the attention of Romanians from the real problems of the coalition government.
Polo – Romania’s national men’s polo team is going to the Olympic Games in Paris, the international specialized federation, World Aquatics, announced on Saturday. Romania ended this month’s World Championships in Doha, Qatar, on 10th position, and only the presence among the top eight would have ensured its qualification to the Olympic Games. South Africa, which was qualified as the best team on its continent, has withdrawn from the Paris Olympics. Thus, Romania, the best-ranked team among the unqualified teams, climbed the Olympic table. Polo is the only team sport with Romanian participation in the Olympics. At the World Cup, the Romanian national team was defeated in the group by Hungary, score 15-8, by Italy score 16-10 and won against Kazakhstan score 25-3. It then lost in the quarter-final playoff 9-12 to Montenegro, and in the qualifying matches it defeated China 9-7 and lost to the USA 13-9. Last month, Romania finished 8th in the European Championships in Croatia.
BUCHAREST – Romania’s national rugby team was defeated by the Portuguese team, 49-24, on Saturday, in Bucharest, in their last match in Group B of the Rugby Europe Championship, the second continental competition, after the famous Six Nations Tournament. In the first two matches, Romania defeated Poland 20-8 (away from home) and Belgium 33-18 (at home). In the semifinals (March 2-3), Romania will play away from home against Georgia, the winner of Group A, while Portugal will play Spain on home ground.
Munich – The G7 countries’ foreign ministers discussed on Saturday, under the Italian presidency, the international crises: the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the situation in the Red Sea and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the continuation of the support given by the G7 countries to Kyiv. The meeting is organized as part of the Munich Security Conference (February 16-18). The Romanian Defense Minister, Angel Tîlvăr, is also attending the conference in southern Germany. Romania and Estonia share common values and similar concerns regarding regional security, said Minister Tîlvăr, who met, on the sidelines of the Conference, with his Estonian counterpart, Hanno Pevkur. He also had a meeting with James Mattis, former American Secretary of Defense, an opportunity for the two to reiterate the need to continue bilateral efforts in order to strengthen Euro-Atlantic security and deepen the Romania-US Strategic Partnership. In Munich, on Friday, the Romanian Foreign Minister, Ms. Luminiţa Odobescu, pleaded, in turn, for maintaining the multidimensional international support granted to Ukraine.
Paris – The Ukrainian and French presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Emmanuel Macron signed, on Friday evening, a security agreement between their countries, which also provides for the supply of ammunition. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in Paris, France will support Ukraine not only to defend itself, but also in the fight against external interference, in the protection of civil infrastructures, in counterintelligence and espionage, in cyber security and in the fight against organized crime. In the press conference held after the signing of the agreement, President Macron stated that the future accession of Ukraine to the European Union and NATO will mean a useful contribution to the peace and security of the continent. For his part, President Zelensky expressed hope that the security agreements signed with France and, earlier on the same day, with Germany, after the one with Great Britain last month, will also give an impetus to the United States to continue providing aid to Ukraine. (LS)
