Radio România Internațional

Tag: US-Russia relations

  • May 20, 2021

    May 20, 2021

    COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – Prime Minister
    Florin Cîţu gave assurances that a new series of anti-COVID restrictions will
    be lifted starting next month. The Romanian official said this will clearly
    depend on meeting the target of 5 million people who’ve taken the anti-COVID
    vaccine by June 1. The coordinator of Romania’s immunization campaign, Valeriu
    Gheorghiţă, said it is highly unlikely the target will be met by the end of
    May, but rather by mid-June. 618 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the
    last 24 hours in Romania, following some 31 thousand tests. 61 related
    fatalities were reported during the interval and 663 patients are still in
    intensive care. Over 4 million Romanians have taken the anti-COVID jab. Romania
    ranks 7th at European level and 19th globally in terms of
    the number of people who’ve completed the COVID vaccination scheme. Right now,
    vaccination is available without prior appointment. People can get vaccinated
    in any center upon presenting their ID. Tens of thousands of people have been vaccinated
    these days in drive-through centers and as part of vaccination marathons across
    the country.




    PNRR – Romania’s Prime
    Minister, Florin Cîţu, is today scheduled to attend an online meeting with
    European Commission vice-president, Margaret Vestager, as well as to meet with
    the leader of the Social-Democratic Party in opposition, Marcel Ciolacu, to
    discuss the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). The meeting follows
    the Social-Democrats’ repeated requests to be consulted over the document, which
    they want the Prime Minister to present before Parliament. Social-Democrat
    president Marcel Ciolacu said he would be accompanied by a number of
    Social-Democrat experts, as well as representatives of SMEs and trade unions.
    The Social-Democrats want to implement a number of changes and have warned they
    could vote against the ratification of the European Treaty based on which the
    recovery plans of member states are due to be enacted. PNRR was thoroughly
    analyzed in yesterday’s Government meeting. The Government has promised to
    submit Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan to Brussels by the end
    of the month.




    EUROSTAT – The population of
    urban areas will increase in 15 EU Member States over 2019-2050, and will drop
    in nine member states, including Romania, the latest demographic survey
    published by Eurostat shows. Malta, Ireland and Sweden will report the highest
    increases in urban populations until 2050. Romania, Latvia, Greece and Poland
    are at the opposite pole. During the same interval, the Eurostat estimates that
    rural population will increase in Ireland, Sweden, Denmark and Belgium.
    Conversely, Romania is one of the 20 EU member states whose rural populations
    are expected to shrink. National Statistics Institute data shows that Romania
    had a population of 22 million people on January 1, 2021, of which 12.5 million
    in urban areas.

    GAZA – Israeli air raids
    continued in Gaza last night as well, despite preliminary information that both
    parties were close to signing a ceasefire agreement. A Hamas official said he
    expects Israel and Gaza militants to reach a ceasefire agreement in a couple
    of days, although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed
    determination that air strikes should continue for as long as it takes to
    restore calm for all Israeli citizens, the BBC reports. On Wednesday, US
    president Joe Biden had a new round of talks with Benjamin Netanyahu,
    expressing hope for a de-escalation of the conflict. Over 200 Palestinians,
    half of whom were women and children, were killed in Gaza, according to the
    local Health Ministry. Israeli authorities have announced that 12 people,
    including two children, have been killed in Israel since the conflict started.




    USA-RUSSIA RELATIONS – Russia’s Foreign
    Minister Sergey Lavrov said the talks he attended on the sidelines of the Artic
    Council in Reykjavik, Iceland, jointly with US Secretary of State, Antony
    Blinken, were constructive. According to the Russian official, the two parties
    agree on the need to overcome the unhealthy situation that developed between
    Moscow and Washington in previous years. The Russian official said the two
    sides will ready proposals for developing dialogue on strategic stability head
    of the US-Russia top-level summit. Sergey Lavrov added this is a major objective,
    which raises concerns amidst the international community. On the other hand,
    according to a press release of the US State Department, Secretary of State
    Blinken expressed deep concern with the Russian military build-up on the
    Ukrainian border. Antony Blinken also expressed the US’s concern with the
    health of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and the repression of
    opposition organizations.




    WEATHER – Meteorologists
    have issued a code orange alert against heavy rain and strong wind in counties
    in the west, center and east of Romania, in place until Friday morning, and a
    code-yellow alert against heavy rain for most counties in the west and
    northwest. Hydrologists expect flash floods in several river basins in the west
    and east. (VP)

  • April 12, 2017 UPDATE

    April 12, 2017 UPDATE

    DECENTRALIZATION — The Romanian Government on Wednesday adopted the strategy for decentralization. Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu said local authorities would be distributed additional tasks and objectives. The domains included in the decentralization process are: agriculture, culture, tourism, the environment, healthcare, education and extra-curricular activities, youth and sports. The general objective assumed in the strategy is the transfer of new competences, except for those of inspection and control, to the local authorities – town halls, local and county councils. At present a great part of these competences are being exerted by the ministries’ decentralized directorates.



    STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP — On Wednesday the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest played host to the interim meeting of the Romania-US Strategic Partnership, attended by representatives of the US Embassy in Bucharest and other public institutions. The meeting occasioned a review of bilateral relations and the identification of new projects for bilateral cooperation. The participants reiterated their commitment towards the principles underlying the Strategic Partnership, and hailed the marking of 20 years since the Bilateral Partnership was adopted. Representatives talked about bilateral cooperation in defense and security, regional issues, cyber security, energy security, trade and investment, law enforcement, scientific and cultural exchanges, and the U.S. Visa Waiver Program. The meeting was held ahead of the annual Romania-US Strategic Partnership Meeting scheduled to take place in Bucharest in the fall, 2017.



    US-RUSSIA RELATIONS — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said US-Russia relations had worsened since Donald Trump took office at the White House. The Russian official made the statement after the Foreign Ministers of the two countries met in Moscow. Russia wants to know the United States’ real intentions in terms of international policy in order to avoid a new US air raid in Syria and to work together against terrorism, Russian Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov said. In turn, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he wanted an open, straightforward and honest exchange of views in order to clarify common objectives and interests, as well as differences in the two countries’ approach to the main global topics. Rex Tillerson’s visit to Moscow follows an escalation of tensions between the two countries. Russia has condemned the latest US air strike on a Syrian government air base, in retaliation to the chemical attack which killed 89 people.



    DORTMUND ATTACK — The German Police have arrested an Islamic terrorist in connection with Tuesday’s bomb attack on the bus carrying the Borrusia Dortmund football club, the German Federal Prosecutor’s Office has announced. The investigation is focusing on two suspects, the authorities also said. According to the press, the letter found on the site of the blast points to the German military involvement against the terrorist organization the Islamic State and it also refers to the attack on the Berlin Christmas market in December. We recall that the bus of the Borrusia Dortmund football team was hit, Tuesday, by three explosive devices at about 7.15 p.m. local time, ahead of the Champions League quarter final they were due to play on home ground against AS Monaco. The defender Marc Bartra was injured in the explosion as well as the police officer at the front of the motorcade. Former Romanian footballer Marcel Raducanu, who played for Borussia in the 80s and is running a youth football facility in Dortmund, expressed his shock at the news. “These things have nothing to do with football. I don’t understand why anyone would want to harm a football team”, Raducanu told the Romanian sports news agency, DigiSport.



    INFLATION — In Romania, the annual inflation rate stagnated in March 2017 at 0,2%. This is the 3rd consecutive month when positive values are reported, after 19 months of negative values of the inflation rate, show data published by the National Statistics Institute quoted by the daily Ziarul Financiar. In February, the annual inflation rate was 0.2% after it had stood at 0.05% in January. At the end of 2016 the annual inflation rate was minus 0.5%, that being the 2nd consecutive year when the annual inflation rate reported negative values.



    EGMO — The Romanian girl’s math team won three silver medals and one bronze at the 6th edition of the European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO) hosted by Zurich, Switzerland, between April 6 – 12. The medals were obtained by the students of several prestigious IT high schools in Bucharest and Slatina (in the south). The European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad is an international competition similar in structure to the International Mathematical Olympiad. According to regulations, a team is made up of 4 girls. More than 160 girls from 43 countries have participated in this year’s edition. (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • October 15, 2016

    October 15, 2016

    MEETING – The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis next week will take part in the European Council meeting held in Brussels, the presidents spokesperson Madalina Dobrovolschi has announced. The agenda of the meeting, scheduled for October 20 and 21, will include such topics as managing migration, trade policies as well as the external relations of the European Union, with a focus on the Russian Federation.



    BILATERAL RELATIONS – As part of his participation in the EU-ASEAN ministerial meeting in Bangkok, Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu held bilateral talks with the heads of delegations of other states in the region, such as Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Myanmar, Brunei and Cambodia. The meetings occasioned a review of bilateral relations, with a focus on Romanias interest in developing dialogue and cooperation in a number of fields, while also increasing the frequency of top-level political and sectorial contacts. Lazar Comanescu highlighted the importance Romania gives to boosting economic and trade relations with states in the region, including by stepping up direct contacts between business communities and identifying cooperation opportunities both at bilateral level, as well as at the level of the two regional groups, the EU and the Association of South-East Asian Nations. On Friday, the Romanian Foreign Minister expressed his condolences to the Thai authorities following the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, saying that the monarch was appreciated internationally for his important role in promoting the modernization and sustainable development of the Kingdom of Thailand.



    TRAVEL ALERT – The Romanian Foreign Ministry has issued a travel alert for Turkey, informing Romanian citizens traveling to or transiting Turkey that the Parliament in Ankara has voted to extend the state of emergency nationwide by another three months starting October 19. In this context, given the growing security instability in the region, especially around the capital city Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir, the Ministry advises caution and awareness, urging Romanian citizens to avoid getting involved in public manifestations or events that might escalate in violence. The Ministry informs it remains in permanent contact with the Turkish side with respect to providing real-time updates on further developments. On Friday, two missiles were fired on the headquarters of a fishing company in Antalya, southern Turkey, a travel destination favorite among Romanians.



    COOPERATION – The excellent level of cooperation between Romania and the state of Bavaria, as well as the interest for developing and expanding it were highlighted during the talks held in Munich between Minister Delegate for Relations with Romanians Worldwide, Maria Ligor, and representatives of the authorities of the State of Bavaria. The agenda of the visit also included meetings with Bavarian Parliaments vice-president Inge Aures and members of the local Government. Maria Ligor suggested the start of a bilateral cooperation with a view to introducing Romanian-language teaching for Romanian students at secondary education level, based on the success models in other European states. Minister Ligor also met with representatives of the Romanian community, including members of the professional associations, such as doctors, lawyers, social integration experts, as well as associations of Romanian-born German ethnics.



    EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE – The city of Novi Sad in Serbia has been designated as European Capital of Culture in 2021, the first time a city outside the European Union is awarded this prestigious title. The capital of the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural province of Vojvodina, home to 30,000 Romanian nationals, Novi Sad is located some 150 km from Timisoara, western Romania, which last month was also designated European Capital of Culture in 2021. This is the second Romanian city to receive this award, after Sibiu in 2007.



    SYRIA – The United States and Russia are today brokering a new ceasefire in Syria in Switzerland. Washington has stopped bilateral negotiations with Moscow due to the Kremlins decision to support the Bashar al-Assad regime in its assault on the rebel-held eastern Aleppo. President Barack Obama has urged his team to continue diplomatic efforts by holding multilateral talks with key countries in order to put an end to civil war in this country. According to our Moscow correspondent, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he would submit clear-cut proposals to his US counterpart, US Secretary of State John Kerry with respect to a new ceasefire in Syria, saying however his expectations were low for this meeting. Also attending the ceasefire talk in Switzerland will be delegates of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and Egypt.


    (Translated by V. Palcu)