February 21, 2024 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 21.02.2024, 19:57
Defence. The Country’s Supreme Defence Council chaired by president Klaus Iohannis met on Wednesday in Bucharest and decided on a set of measures to strengthen the Romanian Armed Forces and on a number of priority actions to develop the national cyber security system. According to a statement from the president’s office, two years after the start of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, the security situation in Romania’s eastern neighbourhood continues to be under threat given Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. For Romania, the war taking place in neighbouring Ukraine maintains the risk of incidents that can affect its territory and citizens, as well as threats to the safety of navigation in the Black Sea due to drifting mines and Russia’s hostile actions. This is why, the Council says, NATO’s support must be accompanied by Romania’s own increased efforts to consolidate its defence. Romania will also continue to work with its allies towards a robust and effective NATO deterrence and defence posture, to boost allied presence on its soil and to support the vulnerable partners in the region, in particular the Republic of Moldova.
Elections. The leaders of the National Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party, in the ruling coalition, on Wednesday evening presented the timetable for this year’s elections and the political strategy their parties will adopt. Rounds of talks were held throughout the day, both between the leaderships of the two parties and between their presidents, the Social Democrat prime minister Marcel Ciolacu and the Liberal Nicolae Ciucă. In a joint press conference, the latter said it was agreed to hold European elections and local elections on the same date in June. The two parties will also run together on joint lists in the parliamentary elections, but on separate lists for the local elections. The presidential elections will be held in September and those for Parliament in December. From the opposition, the Save Romania Union and the Alliance for the Union of Romanians say the talks on merging elections are only meant to distract people’s attention from the country’s real problems.
Ambassador. Russia’s ambassador to Bucharest Valery Kuzim was summoned at the headquarters of the Romanian foreign ministry in connection to the sudden death of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. According to a statement from the Romanian foreign ministry issued on Wednesday, Romania places the responsibility for Navalny’s death lies exclusively with the Russian authorities and stresses the need for a transparent, independent and comprehensive inquiry into the circumstances of his death. Romania also believes the Russian authorities have the moral obligation to immediately return Navalny’s body to his family. The statement also reads that summoning the Russian ambassador reflects Romania’s consistent position to condemn the massive and systematic violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms taking place in Russia.
Table tennis. The president of the Romanian Table Tennis Federation Cristinel Romanescu hailed the qualification of the national women’s side to the Paris Olympic Games this summer. On Wednesday, Romania also qualified for the quarterfinals of the World Table Tennis Championship in Busan, in South Korea, as they defeated Egypt 3-nil. They will next play Japan on Thursday. The men’s side failed to qualify for the Olympic Games as they lost nil-3 to China in the last 16, also in Busan. The results at the World Championship are a criterion for qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games.
Tennis. The Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea (22 WTA) on Wednesday reached the quarterfinals of the WTA 1,000 tournament in Dubai. She defeated Croatia’s Donna Vekic in three sets and will next face Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic. (CM)
