|
RRI newsletter subcription
(e-mail address):
|
 |
Archives:
|
|
| THE PROSPECTS OF THE ROMANIAN MILITARY BUILT-UP IN IRAK |
| (2007-05-04) |
| Last updated: 2007-05-04 20:09 EET |
After the suspension of president Traian Basescu, a stout US ally and the replacement of his disciple Mihai Razvan Ungureanu, former foreign minister, it is prime minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu who calls the shots in Romanian diplomacy. On Wednesday, as the Bucharest parliament overwhelmingly passed the accord on the stationing of US troops in Romanian military bases, the prime minister said that this ‘was a natural vote’, confirming the partnership in the fight against terror.
This, however, did not prevent him from resuming a typically Liberal topic that is pulling out the Romanian contingent from Iraq before Christmas. “Tariceanu is the main decision-maker as far as foreign policy is concerned and nobody in Washington knows what Tariceanu’s official foreign policy is”, daily paper Romania Libera mischievously writes, taking note of the contradictory signals that the prime minister sends out.
Defense minister Teodor Melescanu provided technical arguments for the withdrawal:
“We started out from the assumption that, as Romanian troops meet their objectives, which is the case including Southern Iraq, we will negotiate a timetable with our allies, first of all with the US for the withdrawal of Romanian troops, without upsetting the local mechanism and at the same time considering our natural expectations as far as a pullout timetable is concerned.”
In rigorously diplomatic terms, US ambassador to Bucharest Nicholas Taubman thanked the Romanian government and people for the support granted within the anti-terrorism fight and said that Romanians counted among the best troops in Iraq. On a more polemical note, he voiced his hope that they will remain there for a while. He believed there were still many things to do in Irak. “We would like Romania to stay the course alongside us, but we understand that this is a sovereign nation and that Romania’s desire will have the final say. We are definitely very grateful and we very much appreciate the support that we have received until now from Romania.”- US ambassador Nicholas Taubman said.
Analyst Cristian Mititelu believes that the temptation to obtain domestic benefits from foreign policy issues triggers a feeling of uncertainty in Western chancelleries. As Cristian Mititelu estimates, president Basescu has committed the country in a pro-American direction, in a stauncher way than his prerogatives allowed, and the National Liberal Party, a dominant party in an opposition-backed government, tries ‘to obtain a certain political capital’ by the withdrawal of troops from Iraq as soon as possible.
|
|
| |
WMA |
|
64kbps : |
1
2
3
|
|
|
128kbps : |
1
2
3
|
| |
MP3 |
|
|
64kbps : |
1
2
3
|
|
|
128kbps : |
1
2
3
|
| |
AAC+ |
|
|
48kbps : |
1
2
3
|
|
|
64kbps : |
1
2
3
|
 Historical mascot of
RRI |
| |
© 1999 - 2011 Copyright Radio Romania International |
|
2025-04-03
Print
Listen again