March 7, 2023

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 07.03.2023, 14:11

VISIT- Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and his wife Carmen have been received today, at the Imperial palace in Tokyo, by Emperor Naruhito of Japan and his wife, Empress Masako. In keeping with the Japanese imperial protocol, talks are not held based on a pre-set agenda, and the Emperor and Empress do not discuss political matters. President Iohannis will also meet with PM Fumio Kishida. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in Japan, President Iohannis will sign, on the occasion of the visit, a joint declaration of instating a strategic partnership between Romania and Japan.

DEBATES – The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest has today dismissed the simple motion against the Social Democratic Labor Minister Marius Budăi, tabled by the USR and the Force of the Right Party. The signatories of the motion accused Budăi, on Monday, during the general debates, that he had failed to meet the deadlines assumed in the governing programme, such as implementing the payment bill and a new pension law, which may jeopardize the attraction of the European funds under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Budai rejected all allegations. Parliament’s passing a simple motion does not trigger the replacement of a minister, but is only a political warning.

STRIKE — The Romanian Foreign Ministry informs Romanian citizens who travel to France or are already in that country, that an all out strike has been planned for today and might be extended on Wednesday as well. For this reason, the circulation of local, national and international trains is very likely to be disturbed. Trade unions of the Charles-de-Gaulle and Orly airports in Paris have announced they will join the strike, just like air traffic controllers and the Air France personnel, which means that the flights schedule will also be affected. According to the Radio Romania correspondent in Paris, French trade unions are trying to paralyze the country with an all out strike and street protests, to prevent the reform of pensions, which is under debate in parliament.

TALKS – The Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu and the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, have discussed over the phone about priority topics for the bilateral Strategic Partnership, in the context of the war in Ukraine and the efforts to counteract its effects. According to a Foreign Ministry release, the dialogue was also held in preparation for the 8th round of the bilateral Strategic Dialogue to be hosted by Bucharest in mid-March.

UKRAINE — Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskky has ordered the army to continue defending the besieged eastern city of Bakhmut, which the Russians have been trying to take over for months. He has also dismissed speculations regarding a possible tactical withdrawal from the area and has reiterated that no part of Ukraine can be abandoned in the hands of Russia. With 70,000 inhabitants before the Russian invasion, Bakhmut has become, due to the duration and intensity of fighting and the heavy losses on both sides, the symbol of the military campaign for the control over the industrial region of Donbas. Russian troops have been advancing, in the last few weeks, in the north and south of the city and have interrupted two of the four supply routes of the Ukrainian military. According to the Institute for the Study of War, a think tank based in Washington DC, ”the Ukrainian defense of Bakhmut remains strategically sound as it continues to consume Russian manpower and equipment as long as Ukrainian forces do not suffer excessive casualties.” (EE)