March 24, 2025
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 24.03.2025, 13:55
DEFENSE – The first meeting of the Supreme Defense Council during the mandate of interim president Ilie Bolojan is scheduled for Friday. The agenda includes four topics, including the stage and prospects of the conflict in Ukraine, as well as implications for Romania and Bucharest’s standpoint in the context of peace talks. Romania’s response to the EU’s plans to enhance its defense capabilities will also be addressed. Interim president Ilie Bolojan explained that EU members will be able to jointly carry out purchases of military equipment, which will be an opportunity for Romania. In the coming period, both the Defense and the Economy ministries, as well as private companies operating in the field of defense and other companies supplying the automotive industry with components that can be transferred to the defense industry, will have to find ways to enter European military production associations in order to be able to carry out joint acquisitions. On Thursday, Ilie Bolojan will attend a summit devoted to Ukraine hosted by Paris. Attending the meeting will be leaders of Kyiv’s allies from the so-called “coalition of willing”. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zenenskyy is also expected to attend. Ilie Bolojan recently said that Romania will serve as a logistics hub to support Ukraine and will not send troops to the neighboring country under any circumstances.
ELECTION – The leader of AUR, George Simion, will appear first on the ballots for the May presidential election, while Bucharest Mayor General, Nicușor Dan, will be last, according to the draw carried out at the Central Election Bureau. Seven of the contenders are representing political parties or alliances, while 4 are running as independent candidates.
UKRAINE – Representatives of the USA and Russia are today meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to negotiate a partial ceasefire in Ukraine. The Americans spoke last night with a Ukrainian delegation also in Riyadh, and Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who is head of the Ukrainian delegation, said that talks were productive. High on the agenda were proposals to protect energy facilities and critical infrastructure. During talks with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, US president Donald Trump reached a preliminary agreement for a 30-day partial ceasefire, which would involve stopping attacks on energy targets. The US-Russian talks in Riyadh seem to focus, however, on adopting a ceasfire in the Black Sea, which would ensure a free flow of goods. White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz told an interview on Sunday that the delegations will also discuss what he called “the line of control between Ukraine and Russia, which is expected to include “verification measures, peacekeeping, freezing the lines where they are”.
TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Anca Todoni won the WTA 125 tournament in Antalya after winning 6-3, 6-2 against Leyre Romero Gomez (Spain). This is her third title in the WTA circuit after the ones in Bari, Italy and Bolivia. Anca Todoni has thus climbed to 82nd place in WTA standings, a career best. Only two other Romanians have betters standings: Jaqueline Cristian (WTA 69) and Irina Begu (WTA 75).
FOOTBALL – Romania’s national football team is today playing San Marino in the second fixture as part of the 2026 World Cup preliminaries. Romania lost 0-1 to Bosnia Herzegovina in the first round played on Friday on National Arena stadium in Bucharest. Austria and Cyprus are also part of Romania’s group. The winners of the 12 groups will qualify directly to the World Cup. Teams in runner-up position in each group as well as the best-ranked teams that won the groups in the 2024-2025 edition of Nations League and failed to qualify at the end of the preliminaries, will also compete for a spot at the World Cup. Romania’s last participation in the World Cup dates back to 1998. (VP)
