Radio România Internațional

Tag: Syria

  • February 5, 2016

    February 5, 2016

    5 people have died and around 30 have been wounded in a serious car accident that occurred this morning on a national road in the south east of Romania, 60 kms away from Bucharest. A coach transporting 33 people hit from the back a tipper truck carrying sand. No braking traces have been identified at the accident site. The authorities are considering several scenarios among which technical problems or the likelihood of the bus driver falling asleep. A code red intervention plan has been activated, including the mobilization of human and material resources of all institutions with intervention attributes.



    The Romanian Defense Minister, Mihnea Motoc, met Friday with the French Defense Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, on the sidelines of the informal meeting of the EU defense ministers hosted by Amsterdam. The talks focused on security issues as well as on cooperation as part of international organizations, shows a press release of the Romanian Defense Ministry. Minister Motoc highlighted the importance of maintaining the cohesion and unity of the North Atlantic Alliance and the need to carry on with the process of adapting the organization to the new security environment, stressing the necessity of consolidating the NATO presence on the eastern flank and the Black Sea, the Romanian Defense Ministry shows. Amsterdam hosts on Friday a meeting of the European defense and foreign ministers. Informal talks are taking place for the revision of the European Strategy on foreign and security policy. Romania is represented by the Foreign Minister, Lazar Comanescu.



    Spain has confirmed that a pregnant woman has been diagnosed with the Zika virus, this being the first case reported in Europe. The Spanish Health Ministry says the woman has recently returned from a trip to Columbia where she is supposed to have been contaminated. The World Health Organization set up in early February a Global Response Unit to coordinate the actions meant to fight the propagation of the Zika virus. The measure was taken following the sudden increase in cases of microcephaly and other neurological disorders registered in Brazil, a country that has confirmed more than 400 cases of new born babies suffering of microcephaly, most likely caused by the Zika virus. The WHO has declared the virus, which continues to spread across the two Americas, a global public, medical emergency.



    Friday saw the drawing of lots for the single matches to be played by Romania and the Czech Republic as part of the Fed Cup, to take place on Saturday and Sunday in Cluj (in the north west of Romania). The match counts for the World Group 1st round. The first match will be pitting Simona Halep (3rd in the WTA classification) and Karolina Pliskova (13th in the WTA ranking). The Czech Republic is also represented by Petra Kvitova (9th in the WTA ranking), Barbora Strycova (41st WTA seed) and Denisa Allertova (59th WTA seed). In the absence of Alexandra Dulgheru(61st in the WTA ranking) and Irina Begu (31st) who are injured, Romania’s team is made up of Simona Halep, Monica Niculescu (WTA 40th seed), Andreea Mitu (96th in the WTA) and Raluca Olaru (45th in the WTA, doubles). The Czech team has been the best team of the past years at the Fed Cup, wining 9 titles including in 2015.



    The UN mediator for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, will explain today to the ambassadors of the 15 members of the UN Security Council his decision to suspend the peace negotiations in Geneva. Staffan de Mistura, who has been mediating since Monday the negotiations between the regime in Damascus and the Syrian opposition, announced Wednesday a 3-week break in the negotiations, which are meant to work out a political solution to the crisis. No date has been advanced for the resumption of negotiations in the context in which the Syrian opposition representatives announced they would not negotiate unless the regime in Damascus ended bombardments in the civilian areas and started releasing the prisoners. In another development, donations for Syria worth 11 billion dollars were gathered in London, on Thursday, at an international donor’s conference. (news translated by Lacramioara Simion)

  • February 4, 2016 UPDATE

    February 4, 2016 UPDATE

    Romania’s economic growth is to reach a peak rate of 4.2% in 2016 while in 2017 it will drop to 3.7%, show the winter economic forecasts made public on Thursday by the European Commission. In autumn the EC forecast a growth rate of 4.1% in 2016 and of 3.6% in 2017. According to estimates the engine behind economic growth remains internal demand while the net contribution of exports remains negative. Also the reduction of the VAT from 24% to 20% in January and the increase in the minimum wages in May will boost consumption and push economic growth to 4.2% in 2016. The World Bank has also improved forecasts for the Romanian economy in 2016. According to them the economic growth rate in 2016 will increase by 3.9% and up to 4.1% in 2017.



    The head of the Romanian presidential chancellery, Dan Mihalache, and Romanian Ambassador to the US, George Cristian Maior, met on Wednesday James Townsend, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for NATO and Europe. They saluted the plan issued by the US presidency to boost fourfold the budget for defending Europe in 2017. Romanian officials believe that this is a reflection of ongoing efforts to discourage eastern threats by bolstering alliance security.



    The Romanian Defense Minister, Mihnea Motoc, takes part on Thursday and Friday in the informal meeting of defense ministers of EU countries, to discuss major points on the defense and security agenda. The Ministry of Defense in Bucharest said that the meeting would emphasize cooperation in running defense missions and operations. Taking part in the talks are also the NATO Deputy Secretary General, Alexander Vershbow, and the UN under-secretary-general for peacekeeping operations, Herve Ladsous.



    In Bucharest, the National Center for Communicable Disease Monitoring and Control announced that a 38 year-old man has died from swine flu in Bucharest. This is the first fatal swine flu case this year. The victim had not received any flu shots, and died of complications due to various other conditions. The National Health Ministry published data according to which 72 patients with flu have been confirmed within the last week alone. So far, 563,000 people have been vaccinated. Swine flu has killed over 150 people in Ukraine so far.



    The British PM, David Cameron, said Thursday in London, at the end of the international donors’ conference that the countries and organizations attending the conference pledged to contribute almost 11 billion dollars by 2020 to aid the victims of the Syrian war. The EU has pledged to contribute more than 3 billion euros in 2016 to support Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. These are countries affected by the refugee crisis caused by the Syrian civil war. The US promised 890 million dollars worth of aid for Syria and its neighbors in 2016. Germany will provide help worth 2.3 billion euros in the next 3 years of which 1.1 billion in 2016, while Great Britain promised to contribute 1.7 billion dollars. The conference in London takes place against the backdrop of accusations made by the US and France according to which Russia and the regime in Damascus, supported by Moscow, undermine the peace process through the offensive launched in the Aleppo area in northern Syria. In another development, the negotiations in Geneva between the regime of Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian opposition, mediated by the UN envoy Staffan de Mistura, have been suspended. The opposition representatives say they will not negotiate unless the government in Damascus puts an end to bombardments in the civilian areas and releases prisoners. Started in March 2011 through peaceful manifestations against the Bashar al-Assad regime, the Syrian conflict has so far killed more than 260,000 people and has caused a major humanitarian crisis in Syria, as many as 13.5 million people having become vulnerable or forced into exodus.



    UNESCO holds Friday in Paris an international conference devoted to increasing security measures for journalists worldwide. On Thursday, in Brussels, the International Federation of Journalists published its annual report which shows that almost 2,300 journalists and media professionals have been killed since 1990 all over the world, of whom 112 in 2015 alone. After the terrorist attack on the headquarters of the satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo, France has the biggest number of journalists killed in 2015, namely 10, alongside Iraq and Yemen, according to an International Federation of Journalists classification. The most devastating year for media professionals remains 2006, when 155 journalists were killed, the report shows. The most dangerous countries for practicing the profession of journalist in the past 25 years have been Iraq, the Philippines, Pakistan, Russia, Algeria, India, Somalia, Syria and Brazil. (news translated by Lacramioara Simion)

  • January 23, 2016 UPDATE

    January 23, 2016 UPDATE

    The code yellow alert for frost continues in Romania until Tuesday, except for 5 counties in the west and northwest. The lowest temperatures will range from minus 20 degree C to minus 15 degrees C. On isolated areas temperatures will drop down to minus 28 degrees C. As of Sunday snowfalls will be reported in the west, north and northwest of the country. The minimum temperatures will drop to minus 24 degrees C and the highs will not exceed minus 2 degrees C.



    The Romanian finance minister, Anca Dragu, said Saturday that the decision of the Fitch rating agency to reaffirm Romania’s country rating and outlook is based on a balanced assessment of the progress made and the macroeconomic risks. She added that the risk factors indicated by the agency would be taken into consideration in the analyses and decisions to be made by the Romanian Finance Ministry. The Fitch rating agency has affirmed the ratings for Romania’s long-term debts in foreign currency and local currency at “BBB minus” and “BBB” respectively, the outlook for both ratings being stable. The issue ratings on Romanias senior unsecured foreign and local currency bonds have been affirmed at BBB-and BBB, respectively. The Country Ceiling has been affirmed at BBB+. Romania’s ratings are supported by the more robust economic prospects, the current better fiscal position and the more favorable governance indicators in comparison with other states with a “BBB” rating. However, for 2016, Fitch is concerned about the fiscal sustainability on medium term. The agency estimates that tax cuts will lead to a drop in governmental incomes by 2% of the GDP this year, which will put pressure on the fiscal structural deficit. Fitch also estimates that Romania’s economic growth in 2016 will stand at almost 4%.



    Romanian MP Mircea Dolha, the head of the parliamentary delegation that visited Norway this past week, said Saturday that the Bodnariu family, who lost custody of their 5 children for having physically hit them, might recover their children. Dolha pointed out that during the talks with the Norwegian government and the child protection ministry they were given clear signals in this regard. He said the Norwegian authorities promised to issue an internal order so as to make the authorities involved in such cases be more careful when making decisions. The MPs have called on the governor of the city where the Romanian-Norwegian family resides to look again into the order of placing the children into foster care, because the measure was disproportionate, being an abusive interpretation of the principle of best interest of the child.



    The American Vice President Joe Biden said Saturday in Istanbul that the US and Turkey were ready for a military solution in Syria, in order to eliminate the terrorist organization the Islamic State. However, he pointed out, fresh from the talks he held with the Turkish prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, that a political resolution of the situation was a priority. Also the two officials talked about the aid the US and Turkey provide to the Sunni rebel forces that are fighting to remove from power the Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad. In another development, Biden reiterated the support of the US in the fight that Turkey is waging against the PKK, Kurdistan Workers’ Party.



    The Romanian national men’s water polo team was ranked 10th in the European Championships hosted by Belgrade, after being defeated by France on Saturday in a match counting for positions 9th and 10th. This is the lowest score obtained by the Romanian water polo team in the last 5 European championships. Romania’s water polo team had already qualified to the pre-Olympic tournament of Trieste, in which Italy, Hungary, Spain, Russia, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Slovakia will be also participating. (News translated by Lacramioara Simion)

  • December 24, 2015

    December 24, 2015

    OUTLOOK OF 2016 – 2016 will not be an austerity year for Romania, marked by redundancies, and the budget deficit in 2016 will be close to estimates, Romanian prime minister Dacian Ciolos, said on a TV station. Ciolos has however mentioned the necessity of implementing reforms in several institutions subordinated to or within the government, such as administration, transports, healthcare and education. These reforms are needed in order not to destabilise the country and economy in the long run, considering the social and fiscal relaxation measures taken by the previous government and by Parliament, Dacian Ciolos has underlined. Referring to Romanias relation with the EU, the prime minister said he would like Bucharest to have a more pro-active role at government level. Dacian Ciolos is due to pay three official visits to the EU member states in the first months of 2016, the first one, on January 7th, to Germany, at the invitation of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the following ones, to France and the Netherlands.



    CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS – Most Orthodox believers, Greek-Catholics and Catholics are today celebrating Christmas Eve, making preparations to mark Jesus Birth, known as the Nativity. Overnight, children in several regions of Romania, a country with a majority Orthodox population, went carolling from house to house, symbolizing the angels and shepherds who were the first to announce Jesus Birth. Also today, priests carrying Nativity Icons go from house to house, spreading the “Good News about the Birth of Jesus Christ.



    KING MIHAI-Romanias former sovereign, king Mihai the 1st, has sent a Christmas message to all Romanians. In his address, the former sovereign has referred to both the young generation, expressing his confidence in the future, and to the elderly, who are teaching a lesson of courage and dignity, according to king Mihai. The former sovereign has conveyed a message of encouragement to and appreciation for those working in hospitals, saving lives, as well as to the teaching staff. He has assured of his compassion all those who are in mourning and those who are worried about the health condition of their loved ones. King Mihai has also evoked the professionalism and commitment of Romanias soldiers, who are serving their country with honour, in all conditions, sometimes even with the cost of their lives.



    CHISHINAU-In the Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet state with a predominantly Romanian speaking population, prime minister designate, Ion Sturza, has secured the support of only one political party, the Liberal Democratic Party, in the effort to form a ruling coalition. According to Radio Chishinau, following Wednesdays talks, both the Liberal Party and Moldovas European Peoples Party havent made a decision yet on whether or not they will support the government. The leaders of the two parties have said they have common standpoints on the situation in the country, but think of different political sollutions; Ion Sturza says the best idea is to form a technocratic government, whereas the representatives of the Liberal Party and of Moldovas European Peoples Party believe the Republic of Moldova needs a government which should enjoy political support. The Democratic Party and the Communist Party have announced they will not vote for the new government, and the Socialists further support the dissolution of Parliament. Ion Sturza has announced he will have talks with representatives of civil society and international organisations as well as with the ambassadors of the western countries accredited to Chishinau. Sturza was designated prime minister on December 21, at the end of a year during which three prime ministers have been replaced, and still has two weeks available to convince Parliament to grant it a vote of investiture.



    EU FINANCIAL SUPPORT- The European Union has adopted a package of measures worth 112 million Euros, meant to support social and economic reforms and to offer protection to vulnerable groups in Tunisia, Syria and Israel. Financed through the European Neighbourhood Instrument, this package has taken the EUs financial support for its southern vicinity to one billion 600 thousand Euros. 72 million Euros of this package are destined to boost cooperation with Tunisia and Israel, whereas the rest of 40 million Euros are earmarked for Syria, to support vulnerable groups. This financial assistance package supports the implementation of key reforms, will improve living conditions and enhance the local populations resistance, said the Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn.



    SYRIAN FILE– Syria has expressed its readiness to take part in the peace talks held in Geneva and hopes dialogue will help the country form a national unity government, Syrian foreign minister, Walid al Muallem, says in Beijing. The UN intends to initiate peace negotiations on Syria, in Geneva, in late January. Last Friday, the UN Security Council issued a resolution which approves an international road-map for the Syrian peace process, in an approach of unique unity among the big powers in the world on the conflict in Syria, FP reports. Syria, the country ravaged by a five-year civil war, is divided between the government forces, Jihadist groups, Kurdish fighters and the rest of non-Jihadist rebels. The conflict in Syria has left over 250,000 victims, more than 4 million people fled the country, and according to UN sources, over 60% of the population is currently living below the poverty line.


    (Translated and edited by Diana Vijeu)

  • December 18, 2015

    December 18, 2015

    The anti-missile shield in Deveselu is a confirmation of the extraordinary relationship that the US and Romania share, the US ambassador to Bucharest, Hans Klemm, said on Friday, when the elements of the American missile defence system installed at the military base in Deveselu, in southern Romania, became operational. The facility in Deveselu, which includes a sophisticated radar system, ballistic missile interceptors and state-of-the-art communication equipment, will be a major module of a larger NATO security project. To mark the occasion, the Romanian Foreign Ministry held a special ceremony. Hans Klemm underlined the defensive character of the project and the fact that it was exclusively directed against threats coming from outside Europe. In his turn, Romanian Defense Minister Mihnea Motoc said this is the most important Romanian-American project.



    In Timisoara the events marking 26 years since the first anti-communist protests that started in this western Romanian city continue. Wreaths will be laid the Metropolitan Cathedral in the city, on whose steps tens of protesters were shot dead on December 18, 1989. Triggered by the opposition of the Timisoara locals to the authorities abuse, the Revolution soon extended to other Romanian cities. Over 1 thousand people died and around 3,400 were injured between December 16 and 25. Romania was the only communist country where the dictatorial regime was overthrown in a violent manner and its leader executed.



    Representatives of the big powers gathered in New York on Friday to seek backing from the United Nations for a plan to bring about a negotiated end to Syria’s brutal civil war. US Secretary of State John Kerry has recently got Moscows support for this plan. Nevertheless, the US and Russia continue to have divergent opinions as regards the fate of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. While Washington believes the Syrian leader must step down, President Vladimir Putin says he will never agree to the head of a country to be imposed from the outside. American leaders have already voiced concern at the Russian bombings against moderate rebels and not against Islamic State militants.



    The European leaders, who got together in Brussels, are today discussing anti- terrorism measures and also economic, monetary and energy union. On Thursday, the first day of the meeting, EU leaders decided to tighten security at Schengen borders and address deficiencies in managing the wave of migrants. The proposal supported by Germany and France for creating an EU border and coast guard empowered to overrule national governments when the EUs external frontiers are deemed to be inadequately secured has been postponed by 6 months, as in many parts of the EU is viewed as an assault on the sovereignty of nation states. No conclusion was reached on Britains proposal to renegotiate its EU membership status either, and further talks will be held at the summit in February. PM Dacian Ciolos represents Romania at the summit in Brussels. He will today meet with Frans Timmermans, the European Commissions First Vice President.



    The Romanian national womens handball team will today be playing against Norway in the semi-finals of the World Championship in Denmark. In the quarterfinals the Romanians beat the host country after having previously won against Brazil. In the other semi-final the Netherlands will be up against Poland. Romania is the only team that has participated in all World Championship editions as of 1957 and has won 1 gold medal in 1962 and 2 silver in 1973 and 2005 respectively. Russia, Germany and Norway are the teams with most gold medals in world championships so far.


    (Translated by Elena Enache)

  • December 2, 2015

    December 2, 2015

    The American House of Representatives has passed a resolution that celebrates 135 years since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Romania and the US. The document emphasises the significant role of the bilateral strategic partnership in promoting transatlantic and regional security, in encouraging commercial and cultural exchanges and in developing opportunities for trade and investment. According to the Romanian Embassy in Washington DC, the resolution adopted in the House of Representatives is an official recognition of the key-role that Romania plays within NATO, the international community and the whole region.




    NATO foreign ministers, convened in Brussels, have today invited Montenegro to join the military alliance. This is NATO’s first expansion since 2009, defying Russian warnings that enlargement of the U.S.-led bloc further into the Balkans would be a provocation, Reuters reports. Montenegro’s deputy PM, Igor Luksici said that the invitation extended to his country is a positive signal for all other countries in the Western Balkans. Igor Luksici promised that the authorities in Podgorica would further implement reforms in the military and judicial fields. On Tuesday, on the first day of the meeting, NATO also decided on additional measures aimed at tightening Turkey’s security given the military tensions at its borders in the context of the conflict in Syria. Representing Romania at the NATO meeting was Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu.




    British MPs are today deciding whether to back UK air strikes in Syria against militants from so-called Islamic State, at the request of its ally, France, following the terrorist attacks in Paris, France Press reports. Around 4 thousand people took to the streets of London on Tuesday evening to protest against bombing. British military experts say that the country’s military intervention in Syria will not change the course of war. On the other hand, the American Defense Secretary, Ashton Carter said the US will send special operations intelligence and strike force to Iraq to conduct raids on Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria, the BBC reports. For over a year, the US has been leading a coalition made up of 60 states, including Britain, which has been carrying out air strikes against terrorists in Syria and Iraq. Russia began carrying out air strikes in Syria in September 2015, saying it targets exclusively the Islamic State militants. However, NATO and the US are accusing Moscow of targeting positions of the insurgents supported by the West.




    The unemployment rate in the eurozone dropped to 10.7% in October this year from 11.5% in October 2014, according to data made public by Eurostat. In the European Union, the unemployment rate stood at 9.3% in October 2015, down from 10.1% in the same month last year. Greece and Spain have reported the highest unemployment rates in the EU, while Germany, the Czech Republic and Malta stand best in this respect. Romania is below the EU average, with 6.8%. According to Eurostat, around 22.5 million people were jobless in the EU in October 2015, of whom 17.2 million in the Eurozone alone.




    The Moldovan Parliament is today convening in a special meeting devoted to banking system fraud. Tackled will be the disappearance of 1 billion dollars, the equivalent of 12% of the country’s GDP, at the end of 2014, which destabilised the country and led to the current political crisis.




    The World Bank is today initiating a project on secondary education in Romania, for which the financial institution grants the Government a 200-million euro loan. The Romanian Education Ministry will implement the project until 2022, to benefit over one million and a half Romanian pupils and students from over 1 thousand high schools and 300 public universities in Romania. The project aims at improving the Romanian students’ chances to graduate from university.




    31 people injured in the fire at Bucharest’s Colectiv club on October 30 are still being treated in hospitals in Romania’s capital. Of them, 6 are in a critical and serious condition. According to the Romanian Health Ministry, another 30 patients are receiving treatment in hospitals abroad. The death toll stands at 60.



    (Translated by: Elena Enache)

  • October 30, 2015

    October 30, 2015

    The former president of Romania, Traian Basescu, may be prosecuted in a case involving the kidnapping of three Romanian journalists in Iraq in 2005, a Bucharest court decided today, citing abuse of office and conflict of interests among the charges. The case was opened after the former leader of Greater Romania Party, Corneliu Vadim Tudor, filed a complaint to the General Prosecutors Office in 2009, accusing Traian Basescu and his former Interior Minister, the current co-president of the National Liberal Party, Vasile Blaga, of having appropriated some of the 4 million US dollars paid by the Romanian state as ransom for the three journalists. Prosecutors mentioned that the probe into Vasile Blaga was closed in 2010, and prosecution was ruled out. Traian Basescu finds the accusations ridiculous and views the case as an offence to Romania.



    Nine central and eastern-European countries will take part in Bucharest on November 4 in a high-level meeting, attended by the deputy NATO Secretary General, Alexander Vershbow. He has recently said that there are risks when Russia gets involved in operations close to NATO territory. The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, who will be hosting the summit, announced that the participants will release a joint message regarding the adjustment of NATO to the current security context.



    The Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu is taking part today, in Ulm (Germany) in the fourth Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, organised by the European Commission. On this occasion, Minister Aurescu will have bilateral meetings with German officials. The EU Strategy for the Danube Region is a major European political project launched by Romania jointly with Austria, and the Forum is its central annual event. The project brings together Danube riparian countries, of which 9 EU members and 5 non-members.



    Romania might reach an absorption rate of over 90% by the end of the 2007-2014 National Rural Development Programme, which means that more than 9 billion euros from national and European funds will have been attracted into the sector, said George Turtoi, secretary of state with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. This programme is the instrument under which non-reimbursable funds are allotted for private and public investments that ensure the development of villages in Romania. The total funds earmarked under this programme were 9.67 billion euro, which should have been contracted by the end of 2013, but can still be paid until the end of 2015, Agerpres reports.



    The mayor of the north-eastern Romanian city of Iasi, Gheorghe Nichita, and a well-known businessman are to find out today whether they will be placed under custody pending trial for 30 days. The two are subject to investigation in a case involving the award of an EU-funded contract amounting to 15 million euros.



    The European Union announced it was closely monitoring the political developments in the Republic of Moldova, after the Parliament in Chisinau Thursday dismissed the Cabinet headed by Valeriu Streletz through a no-confidence motion. In a press release issued by the office of the EU foreign affairs chief, Federica Mogherini, Brussels urges the politicians in Chisinau to form a new and stable government as soon as possible, considering that the Republic of Moldova is experiencing a difficult period in all respects – economic, political and social. The new Cabinet will have to carry on efforts to fight corruption, to solve the banking crisis and to negotiate a new agreement with the IMF, which is vital to ensuring macroeconomic stability, reads the press statement.



    Talks are held in Vienna today between the foreign powers that back the rival parties in the Syrian civil war. According to the BBC, the goal is the bridge the differences between the US and its allies, which support the rebels, and the key supporters of the Syrian regime, Russia and Iran. This is for the first time that Iran takes part in such talks. Recently, the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, urged the participants in the Vienna talks to prove “flexibility. The war, which has been going on for four years, started out as a rebellion against the President Bashar al-Assad, and has so far killed 250,000 people, forcing half of the countrys population, nearly 11 million people, to leave their homes.

  • Syria, a Conflict Far from Seeing its End

    Syria, a Conflict Far from Seeing its End

    Over 250,000 dead and roughly 12 million people who have left the country -
    this is the still provisional record of the situation in Syria. A situation
    that seems to grow more intricate by the day, with an impact on regional and
    European security. A war zone for the rebels who have opposed the regime in
    Damascus, such as Islamic State or
    Al-Qaeda fundamentalists, but also the more moderate factions, and the forces
    loyal to Bashar al-Assad, Syria, as a theater of military operations, got even
    more complicated the moment Moscow gave a favorable answer to Syrian leader’
    call for Russia to initiate air strikes in its support.

    An important actor in the conflict, Washington
    supports the rebels who oppose Bashar Al-Assad, having at the same time a
    common enemy with the Damascus regime: the Jihadists of the self-proclaimed
    Islamic State and the Al-Qaeda militias in the region. Despite being at
    loggerheads with one another as regards their stance on Syria, Moscow and
    Washington have nonetheless managed to reach an agreement, with the aim of
    avoiding unwanted clashes on the Syrian front.

    With details on the Syrian
    conflict, here is Radio Romania’s Correspondent to Moscow Alexandru Beleavschi. The document is called ‘The Memorandum of
    Mutual Understanding between the Defense Ministries of Russia and the United
    States on preventing incidents and providing for aviation flights during
    operations in Syria’. According to the Russian deputy defense
    minister Anatoli Antonov, the document regulates the actions of manned and unmanned aircraft in the airspace
    above Syria and contains a set of rules and limitations aimed at preventing
    incidents between the air forces of Russia and the US. The Russian Defense
    Ministry has also stated that the regulations
    stipulated in the memorandum also apply to pilots of countries other
    than the United States, but which are also part of the anti-ISIS coalition.


    The Russian Defense Ministry says that Russia’s military is acting in Syria at the request
    of the Syrian legitimate authorities, but the US-led coalition is not present
    there on a legal basis. Russia’s military
    operation in Syria has become more intense
    as soon as the Syrian army started its ground offensive. According
    to the Russian Defense Ministry, Russian air forces have destroyed hundreds of
    ISIS sites, as well as positions held by other terrorist organizations, which
    are now riddled with confusion and defection. The success the Syrian army has
    scored on the ground is rather insignificant in the cities, where the Russian
    air forces have not taken action, harboring Islamist strongholds, benefiting
    from developed underground communications networks.

    But how is the situation in
    Syria viewed in Washington? With details on that, here is Radio Romania’s
    correspondent to Washington Doina Saiciuc: The US
    administration is trying to re-launch peace talks for Syria with Russia,
    Turkey, Saudi Arabia and potentially, even with Iran, talks that could lead to
    a complete cessation of the fight between president Assad’s army and the
    moderate opposition forces, enabling all parties involved to focus on the
    defeat of Islamic State militants. At the State Department, spokesman John
    Kirby emphasized that the agreement memorandum jointly signed by the US Defense
    Department and the Russian Defense Ministry on the rules of safe navigation in
    the Syrian airspace for the coalition pilots did not change the United States’
    stated objective regarding a political transition in Syria, which would
    translate into president Assad’s leaving power.


    According
    to John Kirby, if we take a look at the targets Russia has been hitting, and the support given to the Syrian
    government on the ground, the only possible conclusion is that Russia intends
    to support the Assad regime, which will only escalate the conflict, will ignite
    sectarian tensions, thus leading up to more extremism there or elsewhere in the
    region. The signing of the memorandum, which is something important for the
    safety of the pilots, does nothing to appease the US’s concern regarding
    Russia’s military action in Syria, John Kirby also said.


    In
    another move, the White House has criticized Russia after the rare visit
    president Bashar Al-Assad has paid to Moscow this week, for a meeting with
    president Vladimir Putin. We
    view the red carpet welcome for Assad, who has used chemical weapons against
    his own people, at odds with the stated goal by the Russians for a political
    transition in Syria, White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters.
    Bucharest believes that peace in Syria can only be re-established through
    dialogue.

    Here is Romania’s president Klaus Johannis: The
    fact that as of late Russia has got involved in Syria militarily does not
    provide a solution to the crisis, it only renders the situation more
    complicated. This is Romania’s official standpoint and it is this standpoint
    that we intend to make known
    everywhere. It is not a merely theoretical point. Romania is one of the very
    few countries left that has still kept its staff at the Embassy in Damascus. We
    are not one of the great actors, yet because we are there, we can act as
    facilitators in talks that can lead to peace in the region.


    Some of the pundits
    view Russia’s intervention in Syria as
    an attempt from Moscow to change the strategic landscape in the Middle East,
    with Vladimir Putin taking advantage of
    the US administration’s weak reaction, in order to restore the role
    Russia once had in the region in the
    1970s,

  • Romania, a Negotiator in the Middle East

    Romania, a Negotiator in the Middle East

    The refugee crisis and the developments in Syria rank high on the agenda of the European Council autumn session, taking place on Thursday and Friday in Brussels. The leaders of the 28 EU Member States, including Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, are looking for new solutions to handle the wave of migrants coming in from the Middle East and Northern Africa.



    Before heading off to Brussels, the president referred to the migration phenomenon, which generated many tensions within the EU. Klaus Iohannis said Romania was solidary with the other EU states and wanted to remain part of the solution. The important thing however, the president argues, is to identify the source of these refugees, and it is pretty obvious the main source is Syria, as the ongoing conflict there has prompted many people to flee.



    Klaus Iohannis: “The conflict in Syria is the cause of a huge number of refugees, both in other countries in the Middle East and in the European Union. The solution is obvious: ensuring peace in Syria. For that, all stakeholders must join forces. The fact that, in recent months, Russia has made military interventions in Syria does not help find a way out, and instead, we believe, it only makes matters worse. The only viable solution right now is to negotiate. All parties involved must sit at the negotiations table, and only then will a solution be at hand.



    The fact that Romanias embassy in Damascus is still operational might turn Romania in a mediator for peace in the region, the President believes. His view seems to be shared by the US Ambassador to NATO Douglas Lute, who says Bucharest might contribute to finding a political solution to the Syrian crisis. In turn, Petru Filip, the chairman of the Senates Foreign Policy Committee, also referred to Romanias role in the Middle East, during his official visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories.



    Petru Filip: “We are trying to preserve this role of political mediator, so to say, that Romania has had in the area for years. I believe this is a benefit for Romania and for Romanias policy in the Middle East. I dont only mean Israels relations with the Palestinian Authority, but also to the other states in the region. We are trying to be politically active in the area, and at least let the others know that our diplomatic missions are willing to mediate peace and stability in the area.



    Petru Filip also reiterated Romanias intention to support the peacekeeping efforts in the Middle East together with its international partners.

  • European Diplomacy and the Syrian Crisis

    European Diplomacy and the Syrian Crisis

    The EU Foreign Ministers on Monday
    called on Russia to immediately stop bombing the moderate Syrian opposition,
    saying it’s not possible to achieve sustainable peace as long as Syrian
    president Bashar al-Assad is still in office. Moscow does not share this view,
    and for the last few days Russian fighters have been bombing positions
    allegedly held by Islamic State terrorists. The military escalation in the
    region has put the Syrian conflict in the limelight of global politics.

    In
    Luxembourg, the EU foreign ministers
    stressed the urgency of
    preventing the creation of a power void in Syria, similar to the one in Libya.
    EU officials say the political transition in Syria must observe the principle
    of sovereignty and territorial integrity, with all religious minorities,
    whether Sunni, Shiite or Christian, co-existing peacefully. The Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean
    Asselborn, whose country is currently holding
    the rotating presidency of the EU, warned that unless the United States
    and Russia reached an agreement on Syria, no solution was foreseeable. Jean
    Asselborn said the EU must try and bring Russia into the international
    organization combating the Islamic State, based on the resolution of the UN
    Security Council. The Luxembourg official said communication with Russia must
    not be cut off. Russia is helping Assad play the final political transition card
    in Syria, the official also said.


    The Assad regime bears
    the greatest responsibility for the death of the 250,000 people who lost their
    lives in the conflict so far, as well as for the millions of people who have
    fled the country, reads the document adopted by Foreign Ministers in
    Luxembourg. Attending the meeting, Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu
    said Russia’s actions in Syria had contributed to the radicalization of
    terrorism in the region and should not divert the EU’s attention from Ukraine.
    Romania is ready to take an active role in facilitating dialogue between the EU
    and Syria, through its embassy in Damascus, Bogdan Aurescu also said. The
    Romanian official also pointed out that Romania supported the activity and the
    action plan of the UN Special Envoy for
    Syria Staffan de Mistura, aimed at solving the Syrian conflict.

  • October 8, 2015

    October 8, 2015

    The Romanian president today said that Romania has made great strides in taking responsibility for the Holocaust, on the occasion of commemorating the Holocaust. According to figures, between a quarter million and 300,000 Jews died in 1941 in Bessarabia, northern Bukovina and Transdnestr. The Holocaust was officially admitted to by the Romanian authorities in 2004, based on the conclusions drawn by a special committee on WWII deportations.



    NATO defense ministers convene in Brussels today to discuss the strengthening of the Russian military campaign in Syria. Tensions mounted after Turkey claimed that Russian jets violated its airspace. The NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg described Russia’s military activity in Syria as “a troubling escalation” and said NATO was ready to send troops to Turkey to defend it from any threats at its southern border. The talks in Brussels will also tackle the implementation of the decisions taken at the NATO Summit in Wales, particularly the action plan for enhancing the Alliance’s operational capacity. Romania is represented by Defense Minister Mircea Duşa. On the sidelines of the meeting, he will have bilateral talks with his Georgian and Greek counterparts, to improve Romania’s defense cooperation with these countries.



    The Swedish Academy announces today the Nobel Prize for Literature, the most prestigious literary award in the world. The favorites are Belarus writer Svetlana Alexievich, Norwegian Jon Fosse, American writers Joyce Carol Oats and Philip Roth, Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, and Kenyan Ngugi wa Thiong’o. In 2009, the prize went to German writer Herta Muller, who grew up and lived in Romania during the communist dictatorship. On Tuesday, the academy granted the prize for medicine, and on Wednesday the prize for chemistry. On Friday, the Academy grants the prize for peace, and on Monday that for economy.



    The estimated damages caused by the Volkswagen recall amount to over 30 million Euros, accounting for 105,000 cars, according to government sources in Bucharest. The figure is based on expenses by car owners for Euro 5 emission standard monitoring tests, when the cars actually matched Euro 4 standards. The Romanian state will sue the German carmaker for the difference, after the company releases official information. Volkswagen recently admitted to major fraud related to its car firmware.



    EU ministers of the interior are meeting today in Brussels to talk about the refugee crisis, with a view to reaching an agreement on repatriating refugees whose asylum applications are turned down. At the same time, European ministers also discuss conditions to arrest refugees who try to avoid expulsion. Interior and foreign ministers from EU countries will be joined by Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, to discuss the wave of migration.



    Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu held a meeting with the outgoing Japanese ambassador on Thursday. His Excellency Keiji Yamamoto saluted the strengthening relationship between the two countries in areas such as economy and culture. The Romanian official thanked the ambassador for the progress registered in the process of removing the obligation of Romanian citizens to obtain a visa to travel to Japan.

  • October 7, 2015 UPDATE

    October 7, 2015 UPDATE


    The Romanian Government on Wednesday approved the bill on the ratification of the agreement under which Romania grants the neighboring Republic of Moldova, the former Soviet republic with a predominantly Romanian-speaking population, a reimbursable loan of 150 million Euros. Prime Minister Victor Ponta voiced hope that Chisinau authorities would speed up the reform process, thus keeping Moldova close to Romania and the EU. He added that, given the scandal triggered by the disappearance of 1 billion dollars from the republics banking system, the IMF had announced it would not negotiate a fresh loan agreement with Chisinau. Romania will disburse the first installment of the loan after the Chisinau Government has informed the Romanian Government about the stage of consultations and negotiations with the Fund.



    Romania can help find a political solution to the crisis in Syria, because its embassy in Damascus is still open, said on Wednesday the US Ambassador to NATO, Douglas Lute. He stressed Bucharests role in the armed coalition against the Islamic State terrorist organization, but also said that the situation in Syria would not be settled by the military. For a peaceful resolution of the conflict, countries like Romania are needed, which have complex ties with the Syrian domestic policy-makers, Lute also said. He also urged Romania to keep helping the international effort to mitigate the effects of the humanitarian crisis in Syria.



    The French president, Francois Hollande, said in Strasbourg on Wednesday that Europe was late in correctly estimating the scale of the tragedy in the Middle East and Africa, which triggered the most dramatic migration crisis in Europe after 1945. Addressing the European Parliament, Hollande drew attention to the risks posed by what he called a total war, unless Europe took action in Syria and in the region. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel too pleaded for the modification of the current asylum-granting procedures in the EU members states, calling them obsolete. That was the first joint French-German speech since November 1989, when president Francois Mitterrand and chancellor Helmut Kohl addressed the MEPs on the end of the Cold War.



    The Knesset Speaker Yuli-Yoel Edelstein stated before the Romanian Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday that he was proud Romania was such a strong ally in his countrys fight against anti-Semitism. He voiced worries about Europes starting to forget about the lessons of the Holocaust. 70 years after the fall of Hitler, 70% of the Jews are still afraid to reveal their religious orientation in public, Edelstein said. The Speaker of the Israeli Parliament is in Bucharest on a visit that will last until the 9th of October. His agenda includes meetings with Romanias president Klaus Iohannis and Senate Speaker Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, as well as with the Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu. On October 8th, he will participate in ceremonies on Holocaust Day.



    The former Agriculture Minister Stelian Fuia, member of the Democratic Party which merged with the National Liberal Party, in the opposition, on Wednesday was sentenced by the Bucharest Court of Appeal to 4 years in prison for corruption. He was charged with office peddling while heading an agricultural research facility in the south of the country. The ruling is not final. Also on Wednesday, the French citizen Bruno Roche, the former director of Apa Nova Bucharest water utility, was placed under legal restrictions for influence buying. He is suspected of having authorized millions of Euro worth of payments to companies owned by Romanian politicians and business people. Moreover, Roche allegedly ordered the tapping of the Apa Nova employees phones, under a contract signed with a specialized company. In this way he made sure the employees would not reveal information that would bring to light the illegalities committed in that company.



    On Tuesday in Leicester, Romanias national rugby team snatched a 17-15 win over Canada in a Pool D confrontation counting towards the 2015 edition of the Rugby World Cup, jointly hosted by England and Wales. The Oak Leaf Knights came from behind and overturned a 15-point deficit, which is the biggest comeback in the World Cup history, according to the competitions official site. Romanias national rugby team has thus secured a chance to seize the third position, should they win this coming Sundays fixture against Italy, which actually means securing a straight qualification for the 2019 edition of the World Cup. We recall Romania has sustained two defeats in Pool D, against Ireland and France.



    The match pitting Romanias national football team against the similar team of Finland is scheduled in Bucharest on Thursday. It is the national teams last-but-one fixture counting towards EURO 2016 preliminaries. In its group, Romania is the runner-up team, one point behind Northern Ireland, while 3rd-placed is Hungary. On Sunday, Romania will be taking on the team of Faeroe Islands, away from home, the last Group D game counting towards the EURO 2016 qualifying campaign.




  • October 6, 2015

    October 6, 2015

    An agreement between Romania and the US was signed Monday in Washington meant to boost cooperation in preventing and fighting serious crimes. The agreement was signed at the meeting of the Romanian interior minister and deputy prime minister, Gabriel Oprea, with the American Attorney General Loretta Lynch. By concluding this agreement Romania complies with another technical criterion necessary for fulfilling the conditions of the Visa Waiver Program as part of the process of visa waiver for the Romanian citizens who travel to the US, minister Gabriel Oprea said. The document regulates, on a legal basis, cooperation, prevention, identification and investigation of serious crimes and of terrorist crimes and ensures the exchange of information between the relevant authorities of the two countries.



    The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu is participating today in Seville, Spain, in the “2015 Multinational Ballistic Missile Defense” conference organized by the US Missile Defense Agency. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, Bogdan Aurescu will highlight the strategic significance of the Romanian- American bilateral project in the field of defense. The Romanian official will meet with Vice Admiral James D. Syring as well as with other American high-ranking officials. The talks will focus on aspects related to the location of elements of the American missile defense shield in Romania, at the Deveselu base, that will become operational by the end of this year. The Romanian Foreign Ministry recalls that the previous edition of the conference took place in Bucharest and represented the recognition of Romania’s substantial contribution in the missile defense field.



    The Russian army announced it bombarded on Monday several targets of the extremist movement the Islamic State, especially in the Damascus province, on the 6th day of its military intervention in Syria. These are the first strikes in the Syrian capital area. The Russian planes last week started their first strikes in Syria. Moscow says that these strikes target only Islamic State locations but Ankara and its western allies accuse Russia of focusing their attacks on the Syrian moderate forces, France press reports. The US and its allies denounce the fact that the Russian air strikes against the Syrian militants are “indiscriminate”, also targeting the opponents of the president Bashar al Assad who is supported by Moscow.



    Romania’s national rugby team is meeting today in Leicester the Canadian team in the 3rd match of the World Cup Group D hosted by England and Wales. The Romanians lost the first 2 matches to France and Ireland. In turn Canada lost the first 3 matches at this edition of the World Cup to Ireland, Italy and France. Romania and Canada have so far met 5 times. The Canadians won the first matches while the Romanians the last three. In Group D the Romanian team will also play against Italy on Sunday.



    The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded this year to Japanese Takaaki Kajita and Canadian Arthur B. McDonald for their key contributions to the experiments which demonstrated that neutrinos change identities. This metamorphosis requires that neutrinos have mass. On Monday researchers William C. Campbell (Ireland), Satoshi Omura (Japan) and Youyou Tu (China) were awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine for their discoveries concerning a novel therapy against infections caused by roundworms parasites and also for the discoveries concerning a novel therapy against Malaria. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry will be announced Wednesday, the Prize in Literature on Thursday while the Peace Prize and the Prize in Economy will be announced on Friday and Monday respectively.



    And now we have a special announcement. On November 1st RRI will mark Listeners’ Day. As usual we invite you to participate actively in our special program to be aired on that day. The topic of this year’s edition is devoted to refugees. We have all followed the news about the refugee crisis and have seen that hundreds of thousands of people risks their lives to leave their native countries in search of a better life in Europe. Their number has become a challenge for Europe, for the European values, the labor market, economic growth and integration into society. However no one can ignore that each refugee has his or her own personal story, which sometimes is very sad. Therefore Listeners’ Day on RRI invites you to share your opinion on the refugee issue and tell us the stories you know about refugees. We are looking forward to receiving your recorded or written answers, which you can send by e-mail or by means of Facebook and of the other social networks of RRI. Our address is RRI, 60-64 General Berthelot street, sector 1 Bucharest, PO BOX 111, postal code 010165, e-mail: engl@rri.ro.

  • October 2, 2015 UPDATE

    October 2, 2015 UPDATE

    The Prime Minister of Romania Victor Ponta is on an official visit to Jordan on Saturday and Sunday, at the invitation of his counterpart, Abdallah Ensour. According to a news release issued by the Romanian Government, the goal is to reconfirm the very good level of bilateral political and diplomatic relations and to find the best solutions to improve economic relations. Victor Ponta will be received by King Abdullah II and will have a meeting with the Prime Minister of Jordan, followed by meetings with officials for the country’s Chamber of Commerce and a group of Iraqi business people whose companies operate in Jordan and Iraq. The talks with Amman officials will focus on strengthening the economic cooperation, particularly in the field of agriculture, energy, tourism and health. The participants will also analyse international and regional developments.



    As of Saturday NATO is holding the largest military exercises in 13 years, involving around 36,000 troops, including Romanian ones, 60 military vessels and 200 aircraft, the Allied Command in Brunssum, the Netherlands, announced. Called Trident Juncture 2015, the exercises will take place in 3 countries – Italy, Spain and Portugal — and are scheduled to end on November 6. Apart from ground and air drills, naval manoeuvres are scheduled to take place in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. The exercises come at a time when relations between NATO and Russia are strained, given the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, and the immigrant crisis in Europe.



    The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry expressed its regrets for the incident triggered by the statement of a Ukrainian officer concerning Romania, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced on Friday. The clarifications come after the Romanian party checked the media stories of September 21 regarding the set-up of a unit within the Ukrainian Army with the alleged goal of protecting the country “against possible claims of Romania over this region.” Kiev explained that none of the units of the brigade deployed in the Romanian border area has missions targeted against Romania, and labeled the incident as counterproductive. Ukraine thanked Romania for the constant support it has showed to its efforts, the Romanian FM added.



    The air strikes in Syria must target the IS group and be coordinated so as to avoid civilian victims, the EU insisted on Friday. Several countries in the international coalition in Syria (USA, UK, France, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey) Friday called on Russia to immediately cease strikes against the Syrian opposition and civilians and to concentrate efforts against the IS. Also on Friday, the President of France, François Hollande, and the Russian leader Vladimir Putin discussed in Paris about the crisis in Syria. The main contended issue was the fate of President Bashar al-Assad, a French diplomatic source said, according to France Presse. Moscow supports the leader in Damascus, but Paris and Washington want him to step down as soon as possible, and blame him for the chaos in Syria. Recently, the White House announced that Russia’s air strikes this week against the militants in Syria are “indiscriminate.” The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, said however that the airstrikes target the same terror group that the US-led coalition is fighting against.



    The Romanian tennis players Irina Begu and Monica Niculescu will play on Saturday against the Swiss Martina Hingis and Indian Sania Mirza in the doubles final of the WTA tournament in Wuhan (China), with over 2.2 million US dollars in prize money. Irina Begu and Monica Niculescu have won a WTA tournament in 2012, in Hobart (Australia). No Romanian tennis player is taking part in the tournament’s singles.

  • September 19, 2015

    September 19, 2015

    The head of the Romanian diplomacy, Bogdan Aurescu, holds talks in Bucharest today with his Dutch counterpart, Bert Koenders. The agenda includes topics related to the eastern border of the EU, including the situation in Ukraine, the European prospects of the republic of Moldova, the Western Balkans, developments in the refugee crisis. The two will also look at aspects concerning the forthcoming Dutch presidency of the EU Council, in the first half of 2016. Special attention will be given to security issues, with a focus on the preparations for the next NATO Summit, due in Warsaw in 2016, and on fighting terrorism.



    Hungarys Defence Minister, Istvan Simicsko, ordered the mobilisation of some of the countrys voluntary reserve corps to help handle the “mass migration crisis. The Hungarian news agency MTI said the reserve troops would be primarily used to staff garrisons left empty by soldiers deployed to the border, but could be assigned to other duties. In Budapest, an official was quoted by France Presse as saying that more than 4,000 migrants entered Hungary on Friday. According to Reuters, Hungary is increasingly at odds with its southern neighbours, as Serbia and Croatia struggle to deal with the wave of migrants that flee Middle East countries and transit the region en route to western Europe. Croatia is the new route for the migrants coming from Syria and Iraq, after the sealing of the Serbian-Hungarian border. Meanwhile, the Slovenian Ambassador to Germany, Marta Kos Marko, said in an interview to German media on Saturday that Slovenia was ready to take up to 10,000 refugees, if they filed asylum applications in this country.



    The Greeks are preparing to go to polls on Sunday, in a snap election whose result is uncertain, as the two main rival parties, the radical left-wing SYRIZA headed by the ex PM Alexis Tsipras, and the right-wing New Democracy headed by Vangelis Meimarakis, are very close in opinion polls, apparently with SYRIZA slightly ahead. Both Tsipras, and Meimarakis have promised to carry on the tax reforms requested by Greeces international lenders, the IMF, the European Commission and the European Central Bank, but also to try to take measures to reduce the impact of the austerity programme. A total 14 parties and five coalitions take part in Sundays legislative election in Greece.



    EU member states have reached an agreement on the targets they will support at the UN Climate Change Conference held in Paris between November 30 and December 11. During a meeting in Brussels, the EU environment ministers decided to plead for a global reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, compared to 1990, by 40% until 2030 and by 50% until 2050, aiming for as close to zero as possible in 2100. To this end, the EU will argue for a legally binding agreement to be enforced globally, not only in the more developed countries.



    In Romania, 7,000 employees of the defence, public order and national security structures have been involved, in the past few days, in the HISTRIA 15 military exercise. According to the Defence Ministry, the exercise involved the use of armoured carriers, tanks, ground-to-air systems, aircraft and helicopters. HISTRIA 15 is a large-scale strategic war simulation exercise, which took place in nine shooting ranges in the country between September 7 and 18. It is the largest such exercise held in Romania so far, and it was designed to train the national command and operational structures for planning and conducting a wide range of missions.



    The Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and the Pentagon chief Ashton Carter agreed, during a phone conversation, to carry on the dialogue on Syria and on how to tackle the IS group, the Pentagon announced. Russia proposed a “military-to-military dialogue on the conflict in Syria, so as to avoid incidents between the American and Russian troops deployed there, Secretary of State John Kerry said. News agencies note that Russias initiative comes amid Washingtons growing concerns with the strengthened Russian military presence in Syria to support the Bashar al-Assad regime, whereas for the past year the US has been heading an international coalition against the Islamic State.