June 5, 2014 UPDATE
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Florentin Căpitănescu, 05.06.2014, 20:57
The best Romanian tennis player of the moment Simona Halep, currently ranking 4th in the WTA standings, has qualified for the finals of the Roland Garros tournament after a 2-0 win against Andrea Petkovic from Germany on Thursday. The Romanian will be playing Russian Maria Sharpova in the finals. At her first qualification for the finals of a Grand Slam tournament, Halep was considered the player with the most spectacular ascension in 2013. Before her only Virginia Ruzici managed to obtain such a qualification back in 1980. Also on Thursday, the pair made up of Romanian Florin Mergea and Croat Marin Dragajina lost in the semis to the all-Spanish pair made up of Marcel Granolers and Marc Lopez.
US defence secretary Chuck Hagel on Thursday met in Constanta, a Romanian Black Sea port, his local counterpart Mircea Dusa. High on the agenda were the bilateral strategic partnership and the increased security measures NATO has to take in the Black Sea region. On this occasion Hagel paid a visit to the USS Vella Gulf dispatched to the area in response to the crisis in neighboring Ukraine. Hegel’s agenda also included a meeting with Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta. The US official’s visit comes two weeks after the visit paid to Bucharest by US vice-president Joe Biden, who reiterated the US’ commitment to the security of East European allies, disquieted by Russia’s actions.
The G7 leaders who convened in Brussels on Thursday called on Russia to cooperate with Ukraine’s newly elected president in order to pull out its troops from the border and use its influence over the pro-Russian separatists for the de-escalation of the crisis in the region. Yesterday G7 leaders agreed to continue to support Ukraine, announcing their readiness to impose tougher sanctions on the Russian Federation unless it contributes to reestablishing stability in eastern Ukraine. Also high on the G7 summit agenda were issues like the global economy, sustainable development and energy security.
The EU commissioner for agriculture and rural development, Romanian Dacian Ciolos, on Friday will be paying a visit to Bucharest for talks with Finance Minister Ioana Petrescu and with mayor Sorin Oprescu. Ciolos’s agenda includes talks with Chinese minister of agriculture Han Changfu, who is also paying a formal visit to Bucharest.
