July 12, 2017
Romania might purchase Patriot missiles; Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Liviu Dragnea visits Israel
Ştefan Stoica, 12.07.2017, 14:12
BUCHAREST — The US State Department agreed to a possible sale of Patriot missiles to Romania, a deal worth 3.9 billion dollars, according to a statement from the Pentagon, quoted by Reuters. If the deal goes through, dozens of government representatives and contractors would come to Romania to install equipment, check systems, and provide training and logistical and technical support. Head of the General Staff General Nicolae Ciuca had announced in April the plan to purchase Patriot air defense missiles. The then minister of defense Gabriel Les confirmed that the authorities were considering this a valid solution. Romania is slated to spend over 6 billion dollars over the next few years on air defense systems, of which 4 billion set aside for seven long range surface-to-air batteries. Patriot is an advanced air defense system, which can also be used to against cruise and ballistic missiles.
JERUSALEM — Romanian Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Liviu Dragnea is on an official visit to Israel, invited by Speaker of the Knesset Yuli Edelstein. According to Radio Romania, consultations are being held as part of the Knesset meeting today on developing cooperation between the two states at a parliamentary level. On Wednesday, Liviu Dragnea meets Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. The visit includes a tour of the Yad Vashem museum.
TENNIS — Romanias best tennis player, Simona Halep, number two in the world, failed to qualify to the Wimbledon semi-finals on Tuesday. In the quarter finals, she was defeated by British player Johanna Konta, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4. Had she won, Halep would have moved to first place in the WTA standings, after having defeated in the eighth finals current number one, German player Angelique Kerber. The only Romanian left in the competition is Monica Niculescu, who pairs up in the doubles with Taiwanese Chan Hao-Ching. The two play today in the quarter finals against US-Czech pair CiCi Bellis- Marketa Vondrousova.
MILITARY — The Romanian Navy takes part these days in the Saber Guardian 17 multinational exercise, participating with 745 sailors, 10 warships, 12 support ships, and 18 vehicles. The exercise ends on July 22nd, and is the biggest exercise in Romanias modern history, held in three countries, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. 21 national integrated and connected drills are scheduled, bringing together around 25,000 troops from 22 states. Saber Guardian 17, planned by the US European Command, is meant to showcase the deterrence and reaction capacity of allied forces in a collective defense scenario, using power projection, according to a press release from the Defense Ministry in Bucharest.
FOOTBALL — The Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne announced today its verdict on the case on Romanias champions in football. Domestic sports authorities have granted FC Viitorul the champion title, but the decision was challenged by runner-up FCSB, the former Steaua Bucharest. The two ended last season with an equal number of points, and Viitorul was granted the title based on better results in play-off games. FCSB, however, claimed that the decision should take into account games played throughout the season, which would have given them the title. Irrespective of the verdict, both teams will represent Romania in the Champions League preliminaries. The stakes are high, because FCSB, as vice-champions, would lose their odds-on favorite position in the draw for the third preliminary round, also in Lausanne. In the Europa League, Romania will be represented by Dinamo Bucharest, Astra Giurgiu, and CSU Craiova.
