March 22, 2014 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 22.03.2014, 19:25
In Europe, Crimea’s annexation by Russia has caused deep concern over possible such actions in the future, said Saturday the Romanian President Traian Basescu. He reiterated the idea that the Black Sea, which is one of Romania’s borders, has become a “Russian lake” given the existence in the region of several frozen conflicts in which Russia has significant military resources. According to President Basescu a future target of Russia cold be Transdniester, a pro-Russian region in the Republic of Moldova. The Romanian president’s statement is in line with the criticism leveled by the entire political class in Romania against the intervention of the Russian troops in Crimea.
China is expected to invest in the Romanian agriculture, which has an immense potential, said the Romanian deputy prime minister, Liviu Dragnea, who is also minister of regional development and public administration. On a visit to China, minister Dragnea met with members of the Chinese Association for agricultural development abroad. Previously the Romanian official talked with the representatives of several companies in the communications and energy fields. In Hong Kong, minister Liviu Dragnea called for support in attracting investment funds from the region that should finance projects worth around 20 billion euros, for which Romania and China signed agreements last autumn. Talks also focused on the promotion of Romanian wines, Hong Kong being the world’s largest wine market.
Writer George Arion launched, on Saturday, his novel “Tinta regala” — “Royal target” at the Romanian pavilion at the International Book Fair hosted by Paris. The book offers a new perspective on the events that took place in Eastern Europe before and after the fall of the Iron Curtain. After in 2013 it was a guest of honour at the Paris Book Fair, Romania is participating again in this fair this year with a large number of books. Dinu Flămând, Nicolae Manolescu, George Banu and Matei Vişniec are some of the writers attending the Paris Book Fair.
The German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Saturday in Kiev that the so-called referendum on Crimea’s annexation by the Russia Federation is an attempt to break Europe. He added that the referendum in Crimea and the decision of the Russian Parliament regarding its annexation was an infringement of the international law. The EU continues to convey strong messages of support for Ukraine, given that the Russian president on Friday promulgated a law on Crimea’s rejoining the Russian Federation. The sanctions imposed by the EU and the US sent the Moscow Stock Exchange sliding, and some American bankcard operators stopped payments to the clients of several Russian banks.
