VISIT Romanian people were extraordinary in the generosity and the
\ncourage they have shown in the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the US
\nVP Kamala Harris said in Bucharest on Friday, in a joint press conference with
\nthe Romanian president Klaus Iohannis. In turn, the Romanian president pointed
\nout that NATO will act without hesitation to defend each Allied state,
\nincluding Romania, and during the dialogue with Kamala Harris he was assured of
\nthe US commitment to Article 5 of the NATO Treaty. Mr. Iohannis also stated that
\nthe US and NATO military presence in Romania must be further enhanced, in the
\nlong run, as an additional measure to ensure the security of the country and
\nthe region. Klaus Iohannis and Kamala Harris also discussed the need to step up
\ndefence and deterrence measures in the Alliance’s eastern flank, with a focus
\non the Black Sea area in the south. Meanwhile, according to president Iohannis,
\nthe current energy crisis may be a historic opportunity for Europe to become
\ntruly independent of Russian natural gas, through investments in renewable
\nsources, in the civilian nuclear sector, imports of liquefied natural gas and stronger
\ninterconnection. The US vice president visited Romania for the first time,
\ncoming from Poland as part of a diplomatic tour prompted by the Ukraine war. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
UKRAINE Russia will pay a severe price if it uses chemical
\nweapons in Ukraine, the US president Joe Biden warned on Friday, and announced
\nnew sanctions against Russia. Joe Biden also undertook to avoid direct conflict
\nbetween NATO and Russia, as this would lead to a third world war. In Moscow, the
\nRussian presidency spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the hostilities in Ukraine will
\nend when the West has taken measures with respect to Russia’s concerns
\nregarding the killing of civilians in eastern Ukraine and NATO’s eastwards
\nenlargement. Meanwhile, as the Russian troops that entered Ukraine on February
\n24th are attempting to surround Kyiv, Turkey announced relocating its
\nembassy to Chernivtsi, some 40 km from the Romanian border. Turkey was among
\nthe last countries keeping their embassies in Kyiv. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
SUMMIT The war in Ukraine and its impact on Europeans’ lives
\nand economies was in the focus of the EU summit in Versailles on Friday as well.
\nThe EU continues to provide humanitarian, medical and financial aid to the
\nUkrainian refugees and to the host countries, the EU leaders said in a
\nstatement, also calling on Russia to ensure safe passage to the civilians
\ntrying to leave the country and to allow humanitarian relief to reach the
\nvictims. The 27 EU leaders also discussed the European Commission’s plan to
\nreduce by 2-thirds Russian gas imports this year and to make sure that no EU
\nmember state purchases hydrocarbons from Russia by 2030. Russia’s natural gas
\ncovers over 40% of the EU demand, and 4 alternatives are currently under
\nanalysis: imports from other countries, diversifying sources, putting together
\nsubstantial stocks ahead of each winter season and developing renewable energy
\nsources. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
COVID-19 Almost 3,000 new
\ncases of Covid-19 in 24 hours were announced on Friday in Romania. 50 deaths
\nwere also reported, of which 3 from a previous date. Less than 4,000 people are
\nhospitalized, 608 being in intensive care. After almost two years of alert, all
\nthe restrictions imposed by the pandemic have been lifted in Romania since
\nMarch 9. On the other hand, the authorities announce that the vaccination
\nagainst COVID-19 is moving to the family doctors’ offices. The vaccination rate
\nis still low, with just over 8.1 million people fully vaccinated. (A.M.P.)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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