The
already complex situation in the Middle East got even more complicated
late last week after a key Iranian figure, general Quassem Soleimani had been
killed in a US strike. For the time being the EU is reluctant in siding with US
President Donald Trump who ordered the attack.
However, the Western chancelleries
have so far refrained from openly criticizing Washington’s move being more in
favour of discretion, talks and diplomatic moves. In a phone call with the
Russian president Vladimir Putin, an ally of Iran, the French president
Emmanuel Macron has urged both the United States and Tehran to show restraint.
German chancellor Angela Merkel is
also expected to tackle the crisis during her visit to Moscow in a couple of
days. After the killing of its general, Tehran announced that it feels entitled
to move on with its nuclear programme. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis has
also toed the line of discretion and had a public reaction over the latest
developments in the Middle East only on Tuesday during his visit to the German
state of Bavaria, where he said he paid close heed to the situation in the
Middle East and that he keeps close contact with the Romanian Ministers of
Defence and Foreign Affairs. Iohannis has voiced conviction that the only
solution to the Middle East crisis is a calm and diplomatic approach.
Klaus Iohannis: There are
lots of Romanian citizens working and living in the Middle East. We have people
in Iraq and in the other countries in the region, there are subsidiaries of
various Romanian companies operating there, so many Romanian citizens can
become vulnerable to the Middle East crisis. We are concerned and are going to
take all the necessary measures to assist these citizens if need be. On the
other hand we have troops stationed in Iraq carrying out various NATO missions
in that country, involved in peace-keeping operations or training Iraqi troops
and we are concerned about their safety as well. Part of our troops has already
been relocated.
According to the Romanian Defence
Ministry, the president was referring to the 14 Romanian troops who had been
temporarily relocated to another military facility belonging to the
international coalition. Their missions of training and providing counseling to
the Iraqi troops had to be interrupted for security reasons.
The Romanian Defence Ministry had
previously said that easing tensions is essential in the process of preventing
further crisis escalation in the Middle East. At the same time, the Romanian
diplomacy has recommended its citizens to avoid travelling to Iraq unless
necessary and to those already there to avoid crowded places.
(translated by bill)