Tag: Putin

  • March 25, 2024

    March 25, 2024

    MOSCOW The four suspects of the Friday’s attack, which killed 137 and wounded over 180 at a concert venue in Moscow were brought to court on Sunday. All had wounded faces and, according to Reuters, one of them, which was being carried in a wheelchair apparently had an eye missing. The authorities have presented them as foreign citizens without revealing their nationality, but according to the Russian press, they are from Tajikistan. The attack has been claimed by the Asian branch of ISIS, which even released images during the massacre. The Russian investigators didn’t mention the Jihadi connection, whereas president Putin and the Russian Security Service FSB have mentioned the suspects’ intention to flee to Ukraine, where they had contacts. Kyiv has rejected the theory as absurd. The Romanian Foreign Ministry in Bucharest has conveyed condolences to the victims’ families underlining that Romania is firmly condemning any form of terrorism and violence against civilians.

     

    ALERT The government of France has raised the terror alert warning to its highest level after the Friday’s massacre in Moscow. The country’s Premier, Gabriel Attal, said in a post on a social network that “the decision was taken in light of the Islamic State’s claiming responsibility for the attack and the threats weighing on our country.” France is one of the countries, which has seen some of the bloodiest terror attacks masterminded by Islamist fighters, such as the ones in 2015-2016, which left roughly 300 dead and hundreds of wounded. The government in Paris has explained that the aforementioned Islamist organization has been recently involved in a series of attempted attacks, which have been thwarted by the police forces in several European countries, such as France and Germany and the head of the executive this morning summoned the representatives of the services responsible for the country’s security and safety of citizens.

     

    VOTE MPs in Bucharest are today debating upon a simple motion against Agriculture Minister Florin Barbu, who has been accused of having endorsed a law for the financial benefit of some politicians. Under the title ‘Praising Ceausescu cannot save the Romanian Agriculture’ the simple motion has been initiated by the opposition USR following the minister’s appreciative discourse about the country’s former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. The USR representatives have been accusing the minister of having treated the protesting farmers with contempt and of having ignored the MPs requests to present his activity. The vote is going to be cast on Tuesday.

     

    HANDBALL The Romanian women’s handball side Dunarea Braila has qualified for the final tournament of the EHF European League after a 26-25 home win against the Croatian side Podravka Vegeta on Sunday in the second round of the quarter finals. Dunarea, which also won the first game against Podravka, is Romania’s second representative in the EHF Finals Women, due on June 1 and 2 in Graz, Austria, after Gloria Bistrita. Romania’s champions CSM Bucharest have qualified for the quarter finals of the Champions League in women’s handball after a double win against Slovenian side Krim Mercator Ljubljana and will be playing in the quarters against the French side Metz Handball.

    (bill)

  • March 18, 2024

    March 18, 2024

    ELECTIONS An emergency order merging the EP and Romania’s local elections on June 9 is discussed as of today in the Romanian Senate committees. The ruling coalition says the decision was made in order to motivate citizens to vote, but the opposition criticised the move. Save Romania Union, the People’s Movement Party and the Force of the Right party argue that the draft order changes essential elements in the elections only a couple of months before the vote date, which is against constitutional and international principles. AUR party, also in opposition, urged the Ombudsman office to challenge the new legislation before the Constitutional Court. Under the document, candidates may run in the local elections on behalf of a different party, provided that they notify the candidacy 45 days before election date.

    AMMUNITION PM Marcel Ciolacu Sunday night announced that Romania would have the most advanced ammunition powder production facility in Europe, in which the EU will also be a partner. Romania is set to receive EUR 47 mln in EU funding for this project implemented by the Romanian state-owned company Romarm jointly with Germany.

    STRIKE In Romania, local administration staff are on two-hour daily warning strike until the end of the week. Protests were also held one month ago, but were suspended after civil servants were promised solutions for their salary problems. Meanwhile, the leaders of the “Solidaritatea Sanitară” Trade Union Federation are meeting today for talks on a prospective all-out strike. Healthcare employees have been consulted online on the issue. Unionists say the 20% pay raise recently approved by the government is insufficient. Unionists in the trade sector, affiliated to the Cartel Alfa bloc, are also picketing the labour ministry headquarters today, to demand decent wages and working conditions.

    RUSSIA Vladimir Putin won the highest election score in the history of post-communist Russia, and secured another 6 years as president of the country he has been leading since late 1999. At midnight he thanked his supporters at his campaign office, where he gave a one-hour press conference saying his main challenge in this new term would be resolving tasks related with what he calls Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine. Russia’s elections were criticised around the world. The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was obvious for anybody that “there is no evil Vladimir Putin will not commit” in order to extend his rule. In turn, the White House claimed the elections in Russia were neither free nor fair, given Putin’s track record of imprisoning his political opponents. Poland said the vote in Russia, held under extreme pressure, made it impossible for the election to be free and democratic. News agencies mention that under Vladimir Putin Russia was involved in several brutal wars, in Chechnya, Georgia, Syria and Ukraine, and the democratic system introduced after the fall of the Soviet Union has been replaced by a regime in which independent media have been forced out of the country and the opposition has been largely eliminated, with many of Putin’s critics assassinated, arrested or forced to leave the country.

    MISSILE The US today condemned the launch of a ballistic missile by North Korea into the Sea of Japan, during the US state secretary Antony Blinken’s visit to South Korea. The presumed missile launch is the second of this kind by Pyongyang this year, after a hypersonic missile fired on January 14. Antony Blinken reached South Korea on Sunday afternoon, to take part in the 3rd Summit for Democracy conference, an initiative of the US president Joe Biden hosted by Seoul until Wednesday. (AMP)

  • March 17, 2024

    March 17, 2024

    Elections – In Bucharest, the Central Electoral Bureau was legally established for the European Parliament and local elections on June 9. Besides the seven judges from the High Court of Cassation and Justice, chosen by drawing of lots, the Central Electoral Bureau also includes the president and the two vice-presidents of the Permanent Electoral Authority. The following political groups and organizations of national minorities are also represented: Social Democratic Party – PSD, National Liberal Party – PNL, Save Romania Union – USR, Alliance for the Union of Romanians – AUR, Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania – UDMR, PRO Romania and the Parliamentary Group of National Minorities in the Chamber of Deputies. The opposition parties Force of the Right, People’s Movement Party – PMP and REPER are dissatisfied because, although they requested this, they did not manage to have representatives in the Central Electoral Bureau, as they do not meet certain criteria. The leaders of the Force of the Right speak of an incredible abuse and announce that they will address the High Court of Cassation and Justice, and USR president Cătălin Drulă claims that they have signals that the power would like to block the participation of the United Right Alliance in the June 9 elections. The Central Electoral Bureau is to pronounce on Sunday on the registration of this alliance formed by USR, PMP and the Force of the Right. If it were rejected, the three parties would not be able to have candidates under the same electoral sign in the summer elections.

     

    Ukraine – Romania condemns the Russian elections in the temporarily occupied and illegally annexed Ukrainian territories. The Romanian Foreign Ministry appreciates, in a post on the Internet, that the elections organized by Russia in these regions violate international law, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, are illegal and illegitimate, and their result is null. The Romanian diplomacy strongly condemns the organization of polling stations in Transnistria region in the Republic of Moldova and in the Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions of Georgia, without the consent of the authorities in Chisinau and Tbilisi, respectively. On the other hand, the ambassador of the Russian Federation to Bucharest, Valeri Kuzmin, was summoned to the headquarters of the Romanian Foreign Ministry, in relation to a series of recent statements by the Russian side. On the occasion of the summoning called by Minister Luminiţa Odobescu, the ambassador was notified about the deep dissatisfaction of the Romanian side with regard to the distorted, truncated and inconsistent manner in which important topics of bilateral relevance are addressed, including in the public communication of the Embassy of the Russian Federation, which originate in the historical past.

     

    Russia – Sunday is the last day of voting in Russia for the presidential election, which is expected to give a new six-year mandate to Vladimir Putin. More than half of the voters went to the polls in the first two days, marked by sporadic incidents, but mostly by drone attacks on Russian territory, attributed to Ukraine. A new attack on a refinery in southern Russia was reported on Sunday in Krasnodar, with regional authorities saying it was caused by a fire and that one person died of cardiac arrest. All week there have been such attacks, and President Putin has warned that Kyiv’s attempts to disrupt the electoral process will not go unpunished. The team of the deceased leader of the Russian opposition, Alexei Navalny, informed that, on Sunday, there were several protests against the predictable re-election of the acting president Vladimir Putin. In Russia’s Far East, in Vladivostok, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Irkutsk and other Siberian cities, people took part in the “Noon Against Putin” at lunchtime, Navalny’s team reported in a live broadcast on YouTube. At the same time, listening to the call of Putin’s opponents, hundreds of people queued at the same hour at a polling station in Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains. Other Putin opponents, such as the exiled Russian businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who lives in the United Kingdom, called on people not to be afraid and to take part in the campaign.

     

    Madrigal – The “Madrigal Marin Constantin” choir filmed, in a world premiere, a video at the ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru. Being on tour in South America for the first time, the National Chamber Choir organized the filming of the second episode of the series “Romanian contemporary music in contemporary ancient spaces”, at an altitude of 2,400 meters, in the “lost city of the Incas”, one of the most beautiful and mysterious ancient spaces of the world. The first episode of the series was filmed in Sarmizegetusa, in Romania, and was released on January 15, on the National Culture Day.

     

    Protests – Trade unionists of the Sanitary Solidarity Federation decide, these days, whether to start an all-out strike. They are consulted through an online referendum, as the federation considers the 20% salary increase approved by the Romanian government as insufficient. The increase would be granted in two equal installments, until the summer. On Monday, the union leadership is scheduled to have a meeting where a decision could be made regarding the protest. Last week, several thousand members of the Sanitary Solidarity Federation protested in Bucharest asking for the index-linking of salary incomes according to the inflation rate and the updating of the amounts related to increments and on-call services. (LS)

  • February 18, 2024 UPDATE

    February 18, 2024 UPDATE

    SPORT Romania’s selections obtained new wins on Sunday at the World Table Tennis Championships in Busan, South Korea. In the women’s Group 7, Romania has scored its third win out of three games, 3-1 against Singapore after those against Sweden and Canada. In their last game in the group, on Monday morning, the Romanians will be playing Serbia. In the male’s competition, in Group 8, after 0-3 with Portugal and 3-0 with Egypt, on Sunday Romania clinched a 3-1 win against Thailand. Our men’s side will be playing Iran on Tuesday. 40 teams from all over the world are playing in the men’s and women’s contests in Busan. The world championships are a qualification criterion for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, where the first 8 teams are qualified.

    HOMAGE Several people gathered in front of the Russian embassy in Bucharest on Sunday to pay their homage to the deceased Russian dissident, Aleksei Navalnyi. They lit candles and laid flowers in memory of the man who opposed the present regime at the Kremlin. Some of the participants carried placards reading ‘You cannot win free election by killing opposition’. As early as Friday the Romanian politicians have conveyed their messages paying homage to the Russian dissident. According to Russian sources, Navalnyi 47, died in the arctic penitentiary he was detained since December last year. The opposition, the Russian independent press as well as the Western foreign ministries have unanimously accused the Russian president Vladimir Putin for having ordered the death of the man who had been the Kremlin’s number one enemy for 15 years.

    CONFERENCE On the sidelines of the Security Conference in Munich, Romania’s Foreign Minister, Luminita Odobescu, had a meeting with a group of veterans from the Russian-Ukrainian front. On this occasion, the minister has conveyed a firm message of solidarity with the neighboring Ukraine and its people, ‘in their legitimate fight to defend the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of their country in the illegal aggression war Russia is waging on Ukraine. According to a press communiqué the Romanian Foreign Ministry released on Sunday, minister Odobescu had earlier participated in the second day of the Conference in Germany in an event devoted to the situation of Afghan women and had talks with her counterparts and with representatives of the international think-tanks.

    POLO Polls drawn on Saturday have placed Romania’s national water polo side in group A together with Croatia, Italy, Greece, the United States and Montenegro at the Olympic Games in Paris. The International water polo federation had earlier announced Romania’s unexpected qualification, as our athletes ended on the tenth position at the World Championship in Doha, Qatar. Only the first eight sides are qualified but South Africa had declared forfeit for Paris. So, Romania, the best placed side among those unqualified, has thus ensured their tickets for Paris. Water polo is the only team sport with Romanian participation in the aforementioned Olympics. Romania ranked 8th at the European Championships in Croatia a month ago.

    SCULPTURE A sculpture by Romania’s greatest sculptor Constantin Brancusi, which was believed, lost or destroyed until last year, has been put on display at the Artmark Galleries in Bucharest. The sculpture known as ‘Bust of a Restaurant Patron’ is actually depicting a waiter in the Parisian café where the artist worked as dishwasher shortly after his arrival in Paris. The sculpture was made around 1905-1906 and has been recently bought at an international auction in Paris by a Romanian collector.

  • Bedrohung durch Russland: Brauchen rumänische Streitkräfte mehr Freiwillige?

    Bedrohung durch Russland: Brauchen rumänische Streitkräfte mehr Freiwillige?

    Ein Angriffskrieg Russlands, der über die westlichen Grenzen der Ukraine ginge und sich somit unmittelbar gegen einen Nato-Staat richten würde, ist mittlerweile eine Möglichkeit, die von Geopolitik-Analysten und Militärexperten nicht mehr ausgeschlossen wird. Für den rumänischen Politikbetrieb hingegen ist das Thema im Superwahljahr 2024 eher ein hei‎ßes Eisen, das niemand anfassen will. Politiker jeglicher Couleur gaben sich bislang beschwichtigend in ihrem Auftritt und taten das Thema als Panikmache ab.



    Nicht so der Generalstabschef der rumänischen Streitkräfte, Gheorghiţă Vlad, der ungewöhnlich deutliche Worte fand. In einem Interview mit einem Radiosender sagte er kürzlich, dass die rumänische Bevölkerung durchaus einen Grund zur Besorgnis haben sollte und dass der Staat seine Bürger auf ein unerwünschtes Szenario wie einen Krieg vorbereiten müsste. General Vlad wies darauf hin, dass der Truppenbestand der Streitkräfte zahlenmä‎ßig bei weitem nicht ausreiche und dass die Reservisten zu alt seien, um im Falle eines Krieges an der Front zu kämpfen. Daher, so General Vlad, sei ein Gesetz erforderlich, das es Männern und Frauen unter 35 Jahren erlaube, den Umgang mit Schusswaffen sowie Ma‎ßnahmen zur Dekontaminierung freiwillig zu lernen. Au‎ßerdem bemängelte der Generalstabschef, dass die rumänische Rüstungsindustrie kaum die Kapazitäten habe, ausreichend Munition nach Nato-Standards herzustellen.



    Die Politik reagierte unwirsch auf die Einlassungen des Generals — mehrere Politiker bezeichneten ihn als einen Alarmisten, der seine Befugnisse überschritten habe. Doch im Stillen müssen sie ihm wohl zugestimmt haben, zumal ähnliche Äu‎ßerungen unlängst auch in Gro‎ßbritannien oder Deutschland gefallen sind. Folglich beschlossen die Verteidigungsausschüsse der Abgeordnetenkammer und des Senats, ein Treffen mit Vertretern des Verteidigungsministeriums einzuberufen. Die Ankündigung machte Alfred Simonis, der interimistische Vorsitzende der Abgeordnetenkammer des Parlaments. Die Kritik des Generalstabschefs wiegelte allerdings auch er ab — Rumänien laufe derzeit nicht im Geringsten Gefahr, in einen Krieg verwickelt zu werden, und die Bevölkerung dürfe sich nicht beunruhigen, denn schlie‎ßlich stünde das Land als Nato-Staat unter dem Schutzschirm des Bündnisses. Was allerdings nicht hie‎ße, räumte er noch ein, dass das Land nicht immer auf alle Szenarien vorbereitet sein müsse. Ins Parlament sei jedoch vorerst keine Gesetzesinitiative für die Vorbereitung des Landes auf einen Krieg eingebracht worden, so Simonis.



    Verteidigungsminister Angel Tîlvăr versicherte seinerseits, dass eine Reaktivierung des verpflichtenden Wehrdienstes ausgeschlossen sei, doch im Verteidigungsministerium erwäge man die Möglichkeit, künftig auch auf Freiwillige in der Soldatenausbildung zu zählen. Gleichzeitig räumte er ein, dass die Streitkräfte sich tatsächlich mit einem Personalmangel konfrontierten, der im Zuge der Verringerung ihrer Stärke von 320 000 auf 80 000 Soldaten entstanden ist. Allein im letzten Jahr hätten fast 7 000 Angestellte das Militär verlassen. Folglich erwäge man die Ausbildung von Reservisten, die man auf freiwilliger Basis rekrutieren werde. Ferner sei dazu ein Gesetzesentwurf in Vorbereitung, das es Männern und Frauen im Alter von 18 bis 35 Jahren ermöglichen würde, eine mehrmonatige Militärausbildung zu absolvieren, die zum Schluss mit einer Prämie belohnt werden könnte, so der rumänische Verteidigungsminister.

  • January 29, 2024 UPDATE

    January 29, 2024 UPDATE

    PUTIN The incumbent president
    of Russia, Vladimir Putin, is running for another term in office in the
    presidential election due over March 15 and 17, the Central Election Committee
    has been quoted by the Russian and international press agencies as saying.
    According to these sources, both the supporters and opponents of the Kremlin
    leader are expecting him to win a new 6-year mandate. If Putin completed this
    mandate he could become the longest-lived Russian leader since the 18th
    century. A former agent of the Soviet political police, the KGB, and former
    Prime Minister, Putin got his first mandate as a president in 2000, a
    designated successor of Russia’s post-soviet president Boris Yeltsin. In 2008,
    when the Constitution didn’t allow him a third consecutive mandate, he formally
    ceded his seat to Dmitri Medvedev, but he remained the strongman of the Russian
    politics. Since the amended Constitution of 2012 Vladimir Putin has
    uninterruptedly held the presidential seat of the Russian Federation. His
    regime has been marked by the bloody reprisals against the breakaway
    insurrection in Chechnya, the elimination of his domestic opposition, the
    invasion of Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2022.




    ORDINANCE Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu on Monday announced
    that he decided to extend for another 60 days the ordinance on capping trade
    mark-ups in basic staple. Ciolacu says that according to data released by the
    National Institute for Statistics, prices in December 2023 were 5.8% higher
    than a year before, whereas before the introduction of the aforementioned
    measure, the difference in prices between June 2023 and June 2022 was nearly
    18%.




    FUNDS The
    Romanian Foreign Ministry on Monday voiced maximum concern about the latest
    severe accusations regarding the alleged involvement of some of the personnel
    of the UN Agency for Relief and Works for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in the
    Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7th. The Romanian
    Ministry says that until the completion of the investigation into the
    aforementioned allegations it will not release new procedures for volunteer
    contributions to the UNRWA. The Ministry recalls that Romania has firmly
    condemned the terrorist attacks on October 7th and voiced regret for
    the victims, the hostages taken, and made an appeal for their release. We
    recall that several countries, including the USA, Canada, the UK, Italy and Germany
    have suspended their funding to the UNRWA until the completion of the
    investigation into the aforementioned allegations.




    IMF An
    International Monetary Fund mission headed by Jan Kees Martijn arrived in
    Bucharest on Monday to review the latest economic and financial developments.
    This is a regular consultation based on Romania’s relation with the IMF, and it
    comes 4 months after the previous visit. The IMF expects a budget deficit of 6%
    of GDP and an economic growth rate of 2.3% this year. IMF experts also
    recommend a number of additional reforms, and in the previous assessment visit
    they mentioned the scrapping of the remaining exemptions, privileges and
    loopholes, a more efficient VAT implementation, a reformed property tax system,
    and the use of fiscal policies in order to promote efficient energy and the
    clean energy transition. Romania has no ongoing agreements with the IMF at
    present.


    (bill)

  • January 4, 2024

    January 4, 2024

    PATRIOT NATO has announced its decision to support a
    group of member countries including Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Spain
    for the purchase of up to 1,000 anti-aircraft Patriot missiles. According to
    NATO, the European production will be increased to cover the growing demand being
    also aimed at strengthening the European Sky Shield. The contract stands at 5.5
    billion dollars and the cost of each Patriot missile is around 4 million
    dollars. The contract also covers the maintenance of the Patriot defence
    systems. NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg has underlined that raising the ammunition
    production is essential for the security of the allied countries and Ukraine.




    AGREEMENT An individual’s period of work and their rights to pension
    have mutually been recognized by Romania and the United States, after the law
    ratifying the agreement on the issue was promulgated by Romanian president
    Klaus Iohannis. Under the new agreement, the periods of work both in Romania
    and the United States will be taken into consideration in the process of calculating
    individual pensions. The document also provides for the export of pensions, a
    major facility regarding the mobility of pensioners in the two countries and
    maintaining their access to the pension rights under payment. The draft also
    includes provisions for the posted workers who have been exempted from paying
    social securities in the country they have been sent to work.




    SPORT Romania’s handball selection is today playing Switzerland in
    an away friendly part of the Yellow Cup. On Friday, Romania takes on Argentina
    and will be up against Bosnia on Saturday. For Romania, presently coached by
    famous Xavi Pasqual, Yellow Cup is the last test before the European
    Championship – EHF EURO 2024 due in Germany over January 10th and 28th.
    Romania is part of Group B together with Spain, Austria and Croatia. The first
    two sides are qualified for the so-called main groups. A quadruple world
    champion, Romania has not qualified for a European Championship since
    1996.


    NATO Secretary
    General, Jens Stoltenberg will convene a meeting between high NATO diplomats
    and officials from Ukraine on January 10, the military alliance has announced,
    Reuters reports. The meeting is to be held in the newly-created format
    NATO-Ukraine and will take place upon Kyiv’s request in the wake of the the
    latest rocket and drone attacks against civilians and localities from Ukraine,
    a NATO spokesman has announced. Russia stepped up its attacks around the New
    Year’s Eve, after President Putin had cautioned that Ukraine’s air raid over
    the Russian city of Belgorod, which Moscow claims that it killed 25 civilians,
    would not go unpunished.






    WEATHER The weather in Romania is warmer for
    this time of the year, with temperatures higher than usual. The highs of the
    day are ranging between 6 and 15 degrees Centigrade with a noon reading in
    Bucharest of 15 degrees.




    (bill)



  • Dinăpoia a pirdeadzloru cu spectacolu Wagner

    Dinăpoia a pirdeadzloru cu spectacolu Wagner

    Tră Africa daima eara spunearea că easti un continent defavorizat, ișit ditu mărli curente a evoluțillei contemporane. Tutunăoară, ari asparizma nicumtinată că aestă arămâneare năpoi va s’aducă efecte greali tră tut laolu. Cu tuti aestea, mărli puteri democratiţi, SUA și craturli ali Uniuni Europeană, disvărtescu di multu kiro programe uminitare, ghini finanțate, tră s’ñicureadză fenomenili dramatiţi ţi s’făţea tru Africa. Di altă parte, marli continentu s-ampulisi daima, pi ningă sumdezvoltari și foamiti, cu aruşfetea și eșeclu a niscăntoru state mări și cu mulţă bănători. Autoritarismul di mână forte, dictatura militară, cunuscu ună creaștire explozivă tru treilli añi ditu soni, maxus tru Africa di Vest. Easti și zona iu extremismul islamic di turlia ali Al Qaeda ică, ma nău, Daech, ș-mută epicentrul. Apandisea-a autoritățlor s’feaţi şi cu forțili speciale franceze și ditu alti state europene ică baş americane. Tru paralel, Rusia s’minteaşti subversiv tru ndilicata catandisi ditu Africa di Vest, tăxindalui ună acțiune ma hăirlătică andicra di atea ţi eara până tora.


    Cara ceareia europeană yinea cu tută responsabilitatea democratică, inclusiv cu autorităț aleapti libir, ahurhindalui cu șeflu a statlui, pripunirea arușilor ş-aduţi ma multu cu ună acțiune di mercenari. Neise, aesta și easti. Cara videmu pisti tut, la atelli ţi ndrupăscu goadili di cratu, hlamburili arusești, askirladzlli nu suntu aţeli ali Armata Aroși. Prezența militară arusă tru Africa nu ari ună umbrelă oficială, moscovită, ama easti nviscută tru uniforma a unăllei parei privat, armătusită, cari s’cumăndusească dupu a llei reguli. Anamea a pareiillei Wagner criscu ntrăoară după declanșarea a polimlui arus contra ali Ucraina, tru cari avu un arolă cabaia mari. Tut tru şcurtu kiro, pareia Wagner, privat ama salami păltită di cratlu arus, agiumsi ună contrapondere di giunami și bună organizari andicra di askerea arusă oficială, cu xiki di hălăţ, apofasi și determinare. Tu idyiulu kiro, liderlu enigmatic ama omniprezentu a pareiillei, Prigojin, cădzu tru veacllea princă a notoritatillei cari ţă u mintea giudicata și feaţi amărtia di lezmajestate media. Dimi, işea tu videală ma multu și ma pozitiv tru media andicra di șeflu absolut di Moscova. A deapoa alathusea faptă di Prigojin fu turnarea-a armatloru cătă autoritățli militati ali Rusie, armata al Putin.


    Mulță s’ntriba cum di armasi nica tu bană liderlu Wagner, ama Rusia ari ună istorie lungă di martiri politiţ, nu-lli lipseaşti nica unu. Ma multu, cara forțile Wagner ditu Ucraina suntu sumu control, scena africană easti tut ahântu cu tăxeari, pi cât easti di imprevizibilă. Incertitudinea mutrindamira al Wagner, nai ma pţănu până s’hibă băgatu sumu controlul efectiv a autorităților aruse, faţi ca pareia di mercenari Wagner s’hibă apărată, tru aistu kiro, di statele africane pi cari lipsea s’li apără. Si tamam tru aestă catandisi cari va s’hibă ridicolă, cara nu va s’aibă accente traghiţi, militarllii ditu Niger lu-avină prezidentulu aleptu dimocratic, avină Franța și s’alavdă cu naua a lor opțiune, dipărtoasa și inerta Rusie. Explicația va s’hibă aestu grup Wagner, prezentat ca ună forță militară cu hăirea a aţiloru ditu filmili di duzină. Maş că, fără ună situație limbidă, aclo, tru patrida-mamă, pareia canda easti abandonată, cu xiki di resurse și ordini limbidz. La nivel oficial, ditu trastul cu nădii, aștiptări și tăxeri lansate la atelu ditu soni summit Africa-Rusia di la Sankt-Petersburg, maş elicopterlu faptu dhoară di prezidentulu arus ti aţelu ditu Zimbabwe pari s’aibă ţiva șansi s’agiungă realitate. Alliumtrea, ateali aproapea 50 di state africane nu aprăftăsiră ici barimu să-lu căndăsească pi partenerul arus s’alasă biriketea ucraineană s’agiungă la eale, s’curmă foamitea. Și cara Rusia nu va s’yină tru Africa, că maş sumu turlia a unăllei parei debusolată di mercenari inutili, niţi Africa nu va s’ducă tru Rusia, că maş sumu turlia a resurselor pi cari idyea parei li ari tu kiniyi.



    Autoru: Marius Tiţa


    Armânipsearea: Taşcu Lala







  • Culisele spectacolului Wagner

    Culisele spectacolului Wagner

    Despre Africa s-a spus
    mereu că este un continent întreg defavorizat, ieșit din marile curente ale
    evoluției contemporane. De asemenea, există teama permanentă că această
    rămânere în urmă va aduce efecte grave pentru întreaga omenire. Cu toate
    acestea, marile puteri democratice, SUA și țările Uniunii Europene,
    desfășoară de mult timp programe umanitare, bine finanțate, pentru a atenua
    fenomenele dramatice ce se petrec în Africa. Pe de altă parte, marele continent
    s-a confruntat mereu, pe lângă subdezvoltare și foamete, cu corupția și eșecul
    unor state mari și foarte populate. Autoritarismul de mână forte, dictatura
    militară, a cunoscut o creștere explozivă în ultimii trei ani, mai ales în
    Africa de Vest. Este și zona unde extremismul islamic de tip Al Qaeda sau, mai
    nou, Daech, și-a mutat epicentrul. Răspunsul autorităților a implicat și forțe
    speciale franceze și din alte state europene sau chiar americane. În paralel,
    Rusia se amestecă subversiv în complicata situație din Africa de Vest,
    promițând o acțiune mai eficientă decât cea de până acum.

    Dacă soluția
    europeană venea cu toată responsabilitatea democratică, inclusiv cu autorități
    alese liber, începând cu șeful statului, propunerea rușilor seamănă mai mult cu
    o acțiune de mercenari. De fapt, asta și este. Dacă vedem peste tot, la
    susținătorii loviturilor de stat, drapele rusești, soldații nu sunt cei ai
    Armatei Roșii. Prezența militară rusă în Africa nu are o umbrelă oficială,
    moscovită, ci îmbracă uniforma unui grup privat, armat, care se conduce după propriile
    reguli. Celebritatea grupului Wagner a crescut rapid după declanșarea
    războiului rus împotriva Ucrainei, în care i-a revenit un rol semnificativ. Tot
    în scurt timp, grupul Wagner, privat dar serios subvenționat de statul rus, a
    devenit o contrapondere de vitejie și bună organizare la armata rusă oficială,
    lipsită de mijloace, decizie și determinare. In același timp, liderul enigmatic
    dar omniprezent al grupului, Prigojin, a căzut în vechea capcană a notorității
    care îți întunecă judecata și a comis păcatul grav de lezmajestate media.
    Adică, apărea mai mult și mai pozitiv în media decât șeful absolut de la
    Moscova. Iar greșeala fatală comisă de Prigojin a fost întoarcetea armele spre
    autoritățile militate ale Rusiei, armata lui Putin.

    Mulți se întreabă cum de
    mai este liderul Wagner în viață, dar Rusia are o istorie lungă de martiri
    politici, nu-i mai trebuie unul. In plus, dacă forțele Wagner din Ucraina sunt
    sub control, scena africană este tot atât de promițătoare, pe cât este de
    imprevizibilă. Incertitudinea privind soarta Wagner, cel puțin până la punerea
    sa sub controlul efectiv al autorităților ruse, face ca grupul de mercenari
    Wagner să fie apărat, în prezent, de statele africane pe care trebuia să le
    apere. Si tocmai în această situație care ar fi ridicolă, dacă nu ar avea
    accente tragice, militarii din Niger înlătură președintele ales democratic,
    alungă Franța și se laudă cu noua lor opțiune, îndepărtata și inerta Rusie.
    Explicația ar fi acest grup Wagner, prezentat ca o forță militară de eficiența
    celor din filmele de duzină. Numai că, fără o situație clară, acolo, în
    patria-mamă, grupul pare a fi abandonat, lipsit de resurse și ordine clare. La
    nivel oficial, din sacul de speranțe, așteptări și promisiuni lansate la
    recentul summit Africa-Rusia de la Sankt-Petersburg, doar elicopterul dăruit de
    președintele rus celui din Zimbabwe pare a avea ceva șanse să devină realitate.
    In schimb, cele aproape 50 de state africane nu au reușit nici măcar să îl
    înduplece pe partenerul rus să lase grânele ucrainene să ajungă la ele, să
    combată foametea. Și dacă Rusia nu va veni în Africa, decât sub forma unui grup
    debusolat de mercenari inutili, nici Africa nu va merge în Rusia, decât sub
    forma resurselor pe care același grup le vânează.

  • Globale Sicherheit und Völkerrecht im 21. Jh.: Gespräch mit dem Politologen Iulian Chifu

    Globale Sicherheit und Völkerrecht im 21. Jh.: Gespräch mit dem Politologen Iulian Chifu





    Nach mehr als einem Jahr, seitdem Moskau die so genannte militärische Spezialoperation losgetreten hat, sagt der Kremlchef, dass es bei der Militäraktion in der Ukraine um die Existenz Russlands als Staat ginge. In einer Rede vor Arbeitern in einer Fabrik, in der Hubschrauber für das russische Militär hergestellt werden, wiederholte Wladimir Putin seine These, dass das Ziel des Westens darin bestehe, Russland zu zerschlagen. Für uns ist dies keine geopolitische Aufgabe, sondern eine Überlebensfrage, bei der es darum geht, die Voraussetzungen für die künftige Entwicklung unseres Landes und die Zukunft unserer Kinder zu schaffen“, so der Kremlchef, der den Westen beschuldigte, die Ukraine als Instrument für einen Krieg gegen Russland zu benutzen. In Bezug auf die Ukraine betonte Putin, dass Moskau jahrzehntelang versucht habe, gute Beziehungen zu dem Land aufrechtzuerhalten, doch mit dem vom Westen angezettelten Staatsstreich“ im Jahr 2014 habe sich alles geändert“.



    Es sei nicht das erste und wahrscheinlich auch nicht das letzte Mal, dass die Rhetorik eines russischen Staatschefs aus einer parallelen Realität zu stammen scheint, wobei sich Wladimir Putin in eine anklagende Position begibt und Russland als Opfer des Westens hochstilisiert. Die Besonderheit des 21. Jahrhunderts besteht darin, dass die Welt sich von einer bipolaren Stabilität in eine Instabilität mit vielen Unbekannten begeben hat, sagt der rumänische Sicherheitsexperte und Politikwissenschaftler Iulian Chifu im Gespräch mit Radio Rumänien. Professor Chifu, der mit der ehemaligen Sowjetunion bestens vertraut ist und als Russland-Experte gilt ist, hat in seiner vierbändigen Studie Die Neugestaltung der Sicherheit und das Völkerrecht im 21. Jh.“ die Entwicklungen, Trends und die aktuellen Verwerfungen in der Weltpolitik analysiert.



    Gorbatschow konnte eines nicht vorhersehen und er wusste auch nicht, wie er sich darauf einstellen sollte – die Tatsache, dass nach der Entlassung der verschiedenen Nationen aus dem berüchtigten »Gefängnis der Völker«, wie die Sowjetunion genannt wurde, diese versuchen würden, ihre Identität wieder zu finden und ihren eigenen, unabhängigen Weg zu gehen. Daher war der Zusammenbruch der Sowjetunion ein natürlicher Prozess. Es war ein Versuch des kommunistischen Regimes, zu überleben, und er endete nur mit dem Zusammenbruch des sowjetischen Staates, wie wir ihn kannten, denn es war ein künstlicher Staat, der aus Teilen zusammengesetzt war und nur durch Gewalt und Repression sowie die erdrückende Macht einer totalitären Ideologie zusammengehalten werden konnte. Das Gleiche geschieht heute oder wird sich in naher Zukunft vor unseren Augen [in Russland] abspielen. Es ist eine allgegenwärtige Frage: Wie geht es weiter mit Putin, wie würde eine Post-Putin-Ära aussehen, würden Putin und der Putinismus eine Niederlage in der Ukraine überleben? Und hier ist die Literatur sehr reichhaltig, in meinem Buch versuche ich, durch das Prisma meiner eigenen Einschätzungen eine Antwort darauf zu finden. Sicher, Putin wird nicht überleben können, aber das wirft gleich eine andere Frage auf: Es gibt geheimdienstliche Erkenntnisse, die darauf hindeuten, dass man im Kreml bereits nach einem Nachfolger für Putin sucht. Natürlich wird Putin nicht aufgrund von Unruhen, nicht aufgrund von öffentlichem Druck beseitigt werden, sondern sein eigenes Umfeld wird sich seiner Person entledigen. Der Putinismus als Ideologie wird allerdings zu überleben versuchen, indem Putin durch einen Nachfolger aus dem inneren Kreis ersetzt wird, so wie es zum Beispiel bei Leonid Chruschtschow der Fall war.“




    Professor Chifu verwies auch auf die Situation des russischen Militärs — junge, ahnungslose Männer, die mit veralteten Waffensystemen an die ukrainische Front geschickt werden, um als Kanonenfutter verheizt zu werden. Gleichzeitig, so der Politikwissenschaftler, habe Putin ein Jahr nach Beginn der so genannten Sonderoperation noch kein Narrativ gefunden, mit dem er seine eigene Öffentlichkeit, geschweige denn die internationale Gemeinschaft, von der Notwendigkeit dieses Kriegs überzeugen könne. In der komplizierten geopolitischen Lage weltweit sollten andererseits auch die Rolle und die Ziele Chinas nicht unterschätzt werden, führt Iulian Chifu weiter aus:



    Putins Problem ist, dass sich die Welt dramatisch verändert hat, dass die Macht im absoluten Sinne verschwunden ist, dass wir heute anstelle von zwei Supermächten zwei Gro‎ßmächte und viele Regionalmächte haben und dass keine der beiden Gro‎ßmächte Russland ist, sondern die USA und China diese Position einnehmen. Wenn man den Ehrgeiz Putins und des russischen Volkes hat, das schon immer mit diesem Exzeptionalismus und der absoluten Überlegenheit und der Idee der Aufteilung der Welt in Einflusssphären gefüttert wurde, dann ist das aus diesem Gesichtspunkt sicherlich ein Problem. Xi Jinping hat ein anderes Gewicht — China ist eine aufstrebende Gro‎ßmacht, das Land hat Ambitionen globaler Natur, es will die Welt unterwerfen. Putin ist für Xi Jinping ein Anhängsel, ein Juniorpartner, und au‎ßerdem pfuscht er ihm ins Handwerk, er stört seine Geschäfte. Als China den sogenannten 12-Punkte-Plan für die Lösung des Ukraine-Konflikts vorlegte, enthielt er eigentlich nur zwei klare Botschaften: keine Atomwaffen einsetzen und den Krieg so schnell wie möglich beenden.“




    China sei an einer schnellen Beendigung des Kriegs interessiert, weil dieser Krieg indirekt auch China etwas kostet, sagt Iulian Chifu. Und die Strategie der beiden autoritären Führer falle dementsprechend aus: Putin müsse viel Lärm machen, um an den Tisch eingeladen zu werden, an dem über globale Fragen diskutiert wird; Xi Jinping wiederum stützte seine Stärke und seine Macht auf die Wirtschaft. Doch brauche er auch Stabilität und Ruhe, um unter dem Radar zu operieren und seine Macht zu vergrö‎ßern. Wenn Putin für Turbulenzen sorge, habe auch China ein Problem, so der Politikwissenschaftler Iulian Chifu im Gespräch mit Radio Rumänien.

  • March 21, 2023

    March 21, 2023

    TALKS Russian
    president Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are currently having
    talks in Moscow. Economic cooperation is high on the agenda on the second day
    of the Chinese President’s three-day visit to Moscow. Yesterday, the two
    leaders tackled the war in Ukraine and the two sides are expected to sign two
    major agreements on expanding the strategic bilateral cooperation and
    partnership. According to sources in Moscow, the talks’ agenda also includes technical-military
    cooperation between the two sides, amid the West’s fears that Beijing could
    supply weapons to Russia for the war the latter is presently waging on Ukraine.
    According to experts, the Chinese president’s visit is important for president
    Putin who can now prove that Russia isn’t internationally isolated. China
    hasn’t condemned the war in Ukraine but has been engaged in peace talks and at
    the beginning of his visit president Jinping has underlined China’s neutral
    stand.








    CUT Last year Romania
    managed to slightly curb the number of road accidents by 200 as compared to
    2021. Fatalities from road accidents were also reduced by 145 and the number of
    wounded by 100. In 2022 Romania reported 47 hundred accidents and 1,630
    fatalities. 37 hundred people were also severely injured. According to the
    Romanian Police General Inspectorate, these have been the lowest figures in the
    past decade. Road traffic police are these days conducting a series of
    preventive activities on the high-risk sections of the country’s road network.








    DAY Numerous events have been announced in
    Romania on the World Poetry Day marked on March 21. The National Museum of
    Literature in Bucharest has scheduled a series of public lectures, exhibitions
    and shows in libraries and education units as well as several outdoor events
    focusing on poetry. At the Ipotesti Memorial in north-eastern Romania, The Mihai
    Eminescu National Study Center is staging the traditional poetry marathon
    involving the participation of almost 20 authors. The National Museum of
    Literature in Iasi, eastern Romania is also staging a poetry marathon.








    PLAN Romania is one of the 17 EU members to have endorsed the EU
    joint weapon-purchase plan, which will enable the EU nations to jointly
    purchase weapons amid growing appeals from Ukraine for more military support.
    According to EU officials the initiative will allow the EU to replenish arms
    that have already been provided to Ukraine. The plan has been drawn up by the
    European Defence Agency in an attempt to connect the weapon demands of the EU
    members and Ukraine and the European arms industry. The programme has two lines
    of procurement, one for the 155 mm howitzer shells for a period of two years
    and for other types of ammunition for a period of seven years. The plan’s third
    component is focusing on raising the production capabilities of some weapon
    producers in the EU.




    (bill)

  • March 17, 2023 UPDATE

    March 17, 2023 UPDATE

    ECCC The European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC) will be
    inaugurated on May 9th, on Europe Day, in Bucharest, at the Polytechnic
    University, rector Mihnea Costoiu told Radio Romania. He also said this is the
    first European agency headquartered in Romania’s capital. The ECCC has a
    4.5-billion euro budget for investment. Bucharest could thus become a hotspot
    for global cybersecurity leaders, given that the EU lays great emphasis on
    digital economy and protecting companies and citizens in the online
    environment. The ECCC aims to increase Europe’s cybersecurity capacities and
    competitiveness, working together with a Network of National Coordination
    Centres (NCCs) to build a strong cybersecurity community.


    NATO Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has eventually agreed
    with Finland’s NATO accession, but not with Sweden’s as well. We have decided
    to initiate the ratification of Finland’s accession process to NATO in our
    parliament, he said after a meeting in Ankara on Friday with his Finnish
    counterpart, Sauli Niinisto. As far as Sweden is concerned, the Turkish
    official said talks would be carried on. Hungary, the only other country yet to
    approve Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO accession, announced it would back Finland
    at the vote on March 27. Turkey’s veto so far to the 2 countries joining the
    Alliance revolved around what Ankara called the harbouring of terrorists,
    i.e. militants from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), on their territories.


    WARRANT The International Criminal Court Friday issued a warrant for
    the arrest of Russia’s president Vladimir Putin in relation to war crimes
    committed in Ukraine since the start of the invasion in that country, France
    Presse reports. Putin is allegedly responsible for the war crime of
    unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of
    population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation,
    the ICC said, and emphasised that there are reasonable grounds to believe that
    Mr Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes.
    A similar arrest warrant was issued against Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, Commissioner
    for Children’s Rights in Russia. For over a year, the ICC has been
    investigating possible war crimes or crimes against humanity committed during the
    Russian invasion of Ukraine, with Moscow repeatedly denying allegations of its
    forces committing atrocities in Ukraine.


    FILM The nominations for the Gopo Awards, a yearly event dedicated
    to Romanian cinema, have been made public. The film Metronome, directed by
    Alexandru Belc, got most nominations, alongside Immaculate and Men of
    Deeds, with 10 nominations each. The awards ceremony will be held on April 25
    in Bucharest. (AMP)

  • Positions on Ukraine

    Positions on Ukraine


    One year into the invasion of Ukraine, Putins Russia is changing nothing, even in terms of rhetoric. Speaking before the countrys political elite, Putin reiterated the claim that the attack on Ukraine was a response to an alleged Western plan against Russia. Kyiv would have prepared for a military offensive in Donbas anyway, last spring, Vladimir Putin claimed.



    While admitting that Russia was going through a difficult period, Vladimir Putin still described his country as the stronghold standing up against the Western decadence that seeks to rob the Russian people of their resources and to make them suffer. The West, the Russian president went on to say, has turned Ukraine into an anti-Russian project. And, he warned, the further into Russia Western weapons will hit, the more Moscow will be forced to remove these threats at its borders.



    Putin announced the suspension of the New START treaty with the US on the reduction of strategic nuclear weapons and warned that Moscow may resume nuclear tests.



    As for the waves of sanctions hitting the Russian economy, the Kremlin leader argued that it cannot be brought to its knees. Moreover, the sanctions purportedly created opportunities for autonomous development.



    Whereas Putins address in Moscow targeted a domestic audience that needs convincing that the West is an intractable enemy for Russia, the US president Joe Bidens speech in Warsaw was intended for the entire world, or at least the part of the world that loves freedom.



    Biden praised Ukraines resilience and reiterated his countrys and its Western allies unwavering support for Ukraines sovereignty and independence. Biden accused the Russians of extreme brutality and crimes against humanity. He reaffirmed the commitment of the US to the NATO collective defence clause. “We will be strong, we will be united. Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia,” the US leader promised.



    On the other hand, Biden dismissed Moscows claims that the West was plotting to attack Russia. “This war was never a necessity; its a tragedy. President Putin chose this war. Every day the war continues is his choice,” the US president said, and added that the war would be ended if Russia stopped invading Ukraine, but that if Ukraine stopped defending itself against Russia, it would be the end of Ukraine. This is why together we must make sure that Ukraine can defend itself, Biden argued.



    Attending the speech was also the president of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, and president Biden asked the public to give her a round of applause, praising Chişinǎus path to EU membership and the peoples resolve to live in freedom. (AMP)


  • February 21, 2023 UPDATE

    February 21, 2023 UPDATE

    UKRAINE The US
    president Joe Biden Tuesday praised the Ukrainians’ resilience in the face of
    the Russian invasion launched nearly a year ago. Speaking at a rally in Warsaw,
    he emphasized that the US support for Ukraine remained unwavering and that the
    free world condemned Russia’s aggression. Biden added that he also wanted the
    people of the Republic of Moldova to be truly free, and called on participants
    to applaud Moldova’s president Maia Sandu, attending the assembly. Previously,
    in Moscow, president Vladimir Putin announced Russia would suspend its
    participation in the New START treaty with the US on the reduction of strategic
    nuclear weapons. The statement was made at the end of his state-of-the-nation address,
    ahead of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24th February,
    and after the US president Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv. On Wednesday,
    Biden is due to meet the leaders of Bucharest Nine, a group of NATO countries
    from central and eastern Europe formed after Russia’s annexation of Crimea at
    the proposal of the presidents of Romania and Poland, Klaus Iohannis and Andrej
    Duda, respectively. The NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said that
    with Russia’s decision on the latest START Treaty full arms control
    architecture has been dismantled. Speaking at a press conference in Brussels
    with the participation of Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s minister of foreign affairs,
    and Josep Borrell, the EU high representative for foreign affairs, Stoltenberg added
    that Moscow was the aggressor in Ukraine, after Vladimir Putin had claimed that
    the West was trying to destroy Russia.


    PENSIONS In Bucharest, USR and the Force of the Right parties in opposition
    Tuesday tabled a simple motion against the labour minister Marius Budăi, whom
    they accuse of incompetence and carelessness. They argue that Budăi is
    protecting special pensions (which are not based on contributions to pension
    funds) thus jeopardising the EU funding Romania should receive under the
    National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Meanwhile, the Senate has once again
    postponed the bill reforming special pensions, for 2 weeks, until relevant ministries
    have submitted estimates of its impact on the budget and stated whether the
    bill complies with Resilience Plan benchmarks. The World Bank is also expected
    to state its view on the matter.


    TURKEY Rescuers
    in Turkey are carrying out new searches for people trapped under the rubble as
    a new quake hit the south-east of the country on Monday night, in the same
    region as the devastating earthquakes that took place two weeks ago. According
    to official reports, six persons were killed and 200 wounded in the latest
    tremor. Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is running for a new term
    in May if elections are held on schedule, says his country would start building
    tens of thousands of new homes next month, a move estimated to cost at least 25
    billion dollars. Erdogan’s rapid reconstruction plans worry architects and
    engineers, who are concerned that the lack of urban planning and careful
    assessment of building safety may lead to a new disaster.


    CULTURE Two
    books about Constantin Brâncuşi were launched in Timişoara, which this year is
    holding the title of European Capital of Culture. The books, which recently
    appeared in France, are written by Doina Lemny, art historian and researcher at
    the National Museum of Modern Art and the Pompidou Centre in Paris. The launch
    previews an extensive exhibition dedicated to the great Romanian sculptor next
    autumn at Timişoara’s Museum of Art. According to the city’s mayor Dominic
    Fritz, around 60,000 people attended the over 130 different events held in
    Timişoara this weekend during the official opening of the European Capital of
    Culture programme. The city will be playing host to around 1,000 different
    cultural events all year long. (AMP, CM)

  • Bucharest responds to Moscow’s assertions

    Bucharest responds to Moscow’s assertions


    The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) last week rejected the assertions of Russian president Vladimir Putin, which according to an MAE communiqué, “falsely induce the idea that Romania would have territorial claims in Ukraine”.


    The Kremlin leader took advantage of the Unity Day to again lash out at the West and Ukraine but to also justify the war he is waging in a country that is neighbouring Romania. In Putins opinion, the West would have intentionally distorted the truth about WWII and the role of the Soviet Union in the victory against the Nazi Germany.


    Putin has allegedly said that they know about the ideas of Polish politicians to make a country from sea to sea…even before World War Two. And there was a lot of talk about this at that time, a fixed idea; a country from the Baltic to the Black Sea. According to Putin, officials in the two countries are now friends, but this idea is very much alive and so is the idea of taking Ukraine back. They are also talking about the return of these territories which were taken from Poland. Putin admitted that it was Stalin who took large territories from Romania and Hungary in the wake of WWII.


    But not only has Bucharest rejected all these assertions over its alleged territorial claims in Ukraine but through its Foreign Ministry, it has reiterated the fact that the aggression Russia commenced on February 24 represents a severe and brutal violation of the international law, including of Ukraines territorial integrity and sovereignty. In the same communiqué, Bucharest, like in all previous occasions, has reiterated its staunch support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its present internationally-recognized borders. In Bucharests view, constantly repeated since the beginning of the conflict, Russias invasion of Ukraine is illegal and has multiple regional and global consequences. We recall that since the very onset of the conflict Bucharest has constantly been an active part of the multilateral initiative of condemning the Russian aggression and has been pleading for bringing the culprits to justice. Furthermore, Bucharest has provided humanitarian support for the millions of Ukrainian refugees who crossed Romanias borders.


    The Romanian government has constantly answered Ukraines requests and provided among other things fuel, medicine, food and ambulances. Through the international humanitarian hub set up in Suceava, in the countrys north-east, Romania has facilitated the access of scores of humanitarian convoys from other countries. And last but not least, Romania has got extensively involved in easing the transport and transit of Ukrainian grain to international markets


    (bill)