Over 2,600 troops and
\nmilitary specialists, with 360 technical devices, paraded in Bucharest on
\nDecember 1st, Romania’s National Day. As a first, the parade was joined by a
\ndetachment from the theater of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Some of the
\nattractions of the parade were the armored vehicles, the Hercules and Spartan
\nfighters and the helicopters. Also, this year the traditional parade of the
\nRomanian army was joined by troops from the Republic of Moldova, Bulgaria, the
\nUS, Poland and Turkey. Romania’s national day was celebrated not only in
\nBucharest, but everywhere in the country, and also at the Romanian diplomatic
\nmissions around the world, through concerts, exhibitions, film screenings and
\nreceptions. December 1st became Romania’s National Day after the anti-communist
\nRevolution of 1989, and marks the completion in 1918 of the process of setting
\nup the Romanian unitary state, by aggregating under Bucharest’s authority all
\nthe provinces with predominantly Romanian-speaking populations from the neighboring
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This year’s December 1st
\ncould mark a new beginning for Romania, with regard to its common practices,
\nbehaviors and mentalities, said in a message to Romanians President Klaus Iohannis, who also stressed
\nthe fact that a new beginning was necessary in Romanian politics. According to
\nthe Romanian head of state, a new beginning would entail new ideas, new
\napproaches and new behaviors, while at the same time maintaining the stability
\nand balance of the Romanian political system. December 1st is not
\njust a celebration of the past, it’s an opportunity for Romania to focus more
\non the present, on its place in Europe and the world, Iohannis went on saying.
\nIn a world in which war and terror seem to have gained significant ground,
\nRomania is a provider of certainty and predictability, thanks to its democratic
\nvalues and its solid partnerships within the EU and NATO, the president also
\nsaid in his message. After the parade, Iohannis had a videoconference with the
\nsoldiers deployed in theatres of operations abroad and attended several
\nceremonies devoted to Romania’s National Day. Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos too
\nsent a message to all Romanians, both in the country and abroad, urging them to
\njoin efforts and help make Romania a better country, a country ruled on the
\nbasis of such principles as decency and transparency.<\/p>\n
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The US Secretary of State,
\nJohn Kerry, congratulated the Romanian people, on behalf of President Barack
\nObama, on their National Day, pleading at the same time for even tighter
\nrelations between Romania and the US. In a communiqu\u00e9 issued by the US
\nDepartment of State, John Kerry recalls that 2015 marks the celebration of 135
\nyears since the beginning of diplomatic relations between the US and Romania,
\ncountries united by a friendship built on their joint commitment to promoting
\ndemocracy and the rule of law, to ensuring citizens’ prosperity, through solid
\ntrading relations and investments, as well as to securing a free and united
\nEurope. The US Secretary of State has stated that the US is proud its soldiers
\nhave participated in missions alongside their Romanian mates, driven by the
\nsame goal of defending freedom and justice in various parts of the world.<\/p>\n
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Romanian
\nForeign Minister Lazar Comanescu attended in Brussels on Tuesday the Resolute
\nSupport meeting, organized as part of the summit of the NATO Foreign
\nMinisters. The participants discussed security in Afghanistan, NATO’ s support to
\nthe Afghan National Defense and Security Forces and means of carrying on NATO’s commitment
\nto Afghanistan. The importance of NATO’s cooperation with other international
\norganizations, the UN and the EU in particular, was also stressed at the
\nmeeting. On the sidelines of the event, Lazar Comanescu had a meeting with his
\nPolish counterpart Witold Waszczykowski.<\/p>\n
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The Command unit of the NATO
\nMultinational Division Southeast was officially activated in Bucharest on
\nTuesday. The setting up of this NATO control structure follows the activation
\nin September of the NATO Force Integration Unit. The two structures will ensure
\na visible and consistent NATO presence in Romania and will play a key-role in
\nensuring the connection between the national and the allied forces. In another
\nmove, the Pentagon has announced that some 70 US military pieces of equipment
\narrived in Romania on Tuesday, from Germany. Other pieces will be shipped in
\nlate December to Bulgaria and Lithuania. Early this year, during a visit to
\nEstonia, the US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter announced that the US would
\ntemporary station vehicles and pieces of equipment in Central and Eastern
\nEurope, sufficient to support an armored brigade. Their deployment would
\nfacilitate the rotation of the US forces in the region and their participation
\nin exercises and training missions.<\/p>\n
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On Tuesday, the Royal Train took a
\nsymbolical trip along the Drobeta -Turnu Severin – Bucharest route, as did King
\nCarol 1st of Romania 150 years ago. The train passed through the
\ncounties of Mehedinti, Dolj, Olt and Dambovita, and thousands of people saluted
\nPrincess Margareta, Princes Maria and Prince Radu, who were on the train. On
\nMay 8th, 1866, Carol stepped for the first time on Romanian soil in
\nTurnu Severin. On the 10th of May he entered Bucharest and the
\nRomanian Constitution was adopted on June 29th. The Royal Train,
\nmade in Italy, started serving the Royal House of Romania in 1928, during the
\nfirst reign of Mihai 1st. It was used by both King Carol 2nd
\nand Mihai 1st, and during the communist period it was used as a
\npresidential train.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A roundup of domestic and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":100004,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[29586,29078,29587,29588,29274],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-100684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-december-1st","tag-john-kerry","tag-national-day","tag-nato-multinational-division","tag-nato-summit"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n