Romanian – Russian Cooperation

Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean met in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

Leyla Cheamil, 10.07.2013, 13:27

Romania and the Russian Federation have expressed a joint interest in revitalizing bilateral relations, which over the last years have been stalling, in the absence of a high-level political dialogue. This is but one of the many conclusions of the latest visit of Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean to Moscow, where he met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. This was the first visit after the signing of the Romanian-Russian political treaty ten days ago and the first since Romania’s accession to NATO and the European Union. The meeting was aimed at breathing new life into bilateral relations, according to Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean:

“Together with my colleague Sergey Lavrov we agreed that the cooperation potential at the level of Romanian-Russian relations has not been fully capitalised on. There are good prospects for improving relations between our countries. I have pointed out that by means of consistent political dialogue we may be able to boost economic cooperation and support other areas of shared interest”.

Titus Corlatean went on to say that the meeting was necessary in order to set a solid economic agenda that would benefit both sides, considering that two-way trade stood at 4.4 billion dollars in 2012, with Romanian exports accounting for merely 1.3 billion. In turn Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said to Russia Romania was an important partner in southeastern Europe. The two officials signed a series of bilateral documents, the most important of which provides for opening the Romanian Cultural Institute in Moscow and the Russia Scientific and Cultural Centre in Bucharest, as well as an intergovernmental program regarding cooperation in such fields as culture, media, sports and tourism. Furthermore, Titus Corlatean raised the question of opening direct negotiations with Russia regarding gas exports to Romania with a view to obtaining a better price.

Last year Romania imported close to a quarter of its internal gas consumption from the Russian energy company Gazprom through the agency of partner companies. These third parties sell gas to Romania at three times the price of gas produced at home. A sensitive issue in the relation with Russia is the question of the Romanian state treasury, which our country sent for safekeeping to Moscow in 1917 during World War 1, a treasure that has never been returned in full to Romania. In that respect Minister Corlatean said the Russian side agreed to set a clear timetable for the joint committee responsible for dealing with historical problems, including the Romanian treasury.