Lack of
diplomatic skills, dilettantism in such a complicated field as foreign policy
or a faulty assessment of the effects of such a move were some of the comments
on the announcement that Romanian’s PM Viorica Dancila made in Washington DC as
regards the relocation of the country’s embassy in Israel, from Tel Aviv to
Jerusalem.
In reaction to
the PM’s announcement, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said the move demonstrates once more
Viorica Dancila’s complete ignorance with regard to foreign policy and to how
important decisions for the Romanian state are made, and pointed out the final
decision on this matter is the President’s prerogative.
Iohannis also talked about
the serious effects of the PM’s announcement, such as the cancelling, by King
Abdullah of Jordan, of the visit he should have paid to Bucharest early this
week. Also, the Palestine Liberation Organization has harshly criticised PM
Dancila.
Klaus Iohannis: The King
of Jordan was personally offended by the PM’s approach at the congress in the
US and decided to cancel his visit to Romania. This is a real problem for
Romania. Romania has built a relationship with the Arab world that is based on
trust. This is one of the few constants or was one of the few constants of
Romania’s foreign policy.
On the other hand, the
Social Democrat Liviu Dragnea, the leader of the party that put PM Dancila at
the helm of the Government, says that moving the Romanian embassy from Tel Aviv
to Jerusalem has only advantages. Dragnea has called on President Iohannis to
take a decision on this matter as soon as possible, in the Supreme Council of National
Defence (CSAT) and has reproached him for not having appointed an ambassador in
Israel yet.
Liviu Dragnea: Talks on
this matter need to be initiated within the Supreme Council of National Defence
and a decision must be made. Reacting to each other’s statements does not help.
At the same time, a big problem that we have with the state of Israel is that
President Iohannis has refused, in the past two years, to appoint a Romanian
ambassador to this country, in spite of having received a number of nominations
from the Government.
The Liberals, in the
opposition, have asked for the PM’s resignation, for having damaged the image
of the country. Liberal leader Ludovic Orban.
Ludovic Orban: Romania’s
image will surely be highly damaged, at EU level. I remind Mrs. Dancila that
she doesn’t speak from a personal viewpoint, but as the PM of a country that
holds the presidency of the Council of the EU and that all her statements are
made from this official position.
The media in the EU has
made negative comments on this matter. The Romanian PM’s announcement broke the joint EU and UN line that
Israeli-occupied Jerusalem ought to be shared by Israel and Palestine in a
future two-state solution, EUObserver has reported, also saying that it did
extra damage to EU policy because Romania currently holds the six-month EU
chairmanship.
However, not all reactions to the
announcement are negative, as the PM’s announcement was hailed by the American
Vice President Mike Pence and the Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.