January 22, 2023 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 22.01.2023, 20:00
FAC – Romania’s Foreign
Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, is attending the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC)
meeting hosted by Brussels on Monday. According to a Foreign Ministry press
release, talks will focus on Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, with Ukraine’s
Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba expected to take part in videoconference
format. The meeting’s agenda also includes the developments in Sahel and
coastal areas of Western Africa. European officials will also look at the
latest developments in Iran, Montenegro, Afghanistan and Venezuela, as well as
the launch of the EU mission to Armenia. With respect to Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine, Minister Aurescu will reassert the need to continue the EU’s
multidimensional assistance to Ukraine, in particular with a view to getting
through the cold season safely and providing military assistance to the
Ukrainian army via the European Peace Facility.
CELEBRATION – The Union of the
Romanian Principalities will be marked on January 24 by the Romanian Cultural
Institute branches in Chișinău, Rome, Warsaw, Venice, Istanbul and Vienna. The
Mihai Eminescu Institute in Chișinău is hosting a scientific conference marking
164 years since the Union of the Romanian Principalities. The Cultural and
Human Research Institute in Venice is organizing a conference addressing the
general public, aimed at highlighting cordial Romanian-Italian relations during
the reign of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza (1859-1866) and the two countries’
symmetric efforts in achieving national unity. The Accademia di Romania in Rome
will also mark the event by publishing a film on its Facebook page devoted to
ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza, produced by painter and photographer Carol Popp de
Szathmari. The Cultural Institute in Warsaw will upload a documentary with
Polish subtitles on its YouTube channel, titled The 1859 Union of the Romanian
Principalities, directed by Radu Găină. A similar documentary will also be
publicized by the Cultural Institute in Istanbul. The Cultural Institute in
Vienna will also host events devoted to the figure of the Romanian ruler.
MOLDOVA
– The invasion of nearby Ukraine by the Russian Federation has prompted the
Republic of Moldova to analyze the possibility of renouncing the country’s
neutrality, stipulated in the Constitution, and joining an alliance, the
pro-Western Moldovan president, Maia Sandu, has told Politico. There is now a
serious debate about our capacity to defend ourselves, if we can fend for
ourselves or whether we should be part of a larger alliance. And if our nation decides
at one point it is time we changed our neutrality status, then this would be
carried out via a democratic process, the president said, without naming any
military alliance. President Sandu said the Republic of Moldova remains
extremely vulnerable and is currently targeted by Russia’s hybrid warfare
attacks through propaganda and disinformation. For the time being, Moldova doesn’t
face any military threats, due to Ukraine’s resistance, the president said. The
Republic of Moldova is not a member of NATO, although it is a partner of the Alliance.
Moldova is also contributing to NATO’s peace-support operation in Kosovo
(KFOR).
HANDBALL – The Romanian women’s
handball vice-champions, CSM Bucharest, on Sunday defeated SG BBM Bietigheim of
Germany 27-25 in Champions League Group A. CSM is the leader of the group and
has already secured qualification to the next phase. The match in Germany also
marked a remarkable performance for CSM’s top goal scorer, Cristina Neagu, who
scored her 1,000th goal in EHF Champions League, thus joining an
elite hall of fame alongside Jovanka Radicevic of Montenegro and Anita Gorbicz of
Hungary. Neagu is also this season’s top scorer with 90 goals. Also on Sunday, in Group B, Rapid Bucharest
defeated 28-22 Kastamonu Belediyesi GSK of Turkey at home. With two rounds left
to play, Rapid is ranked 3rd in the group tables and still holds
chances of qualifying to the quarterfinals playoffs. (VP)
