August 18, 2025
A roundup of local and world news
Daniel Bilț, 18.08.2025, 13:55
WASHINGTON A historical meeting will be taking place today in Washington between the US and Ukrainian presidents followed by another one involving President Trump the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte and several other European leaders. This round of talks that follows the recent Trump-Putin summit in Alaska would mainly allow for approaching the possible territorial concessions and security guarantees aimed at putting an end to the bloodiest conflict in Europe after WWII, AFP reports. On Sunday, the US president said on his Truth Social network, that his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky could ‘end the war almost immediately’ without getting back Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014, or entering NATO. During a news conference, which she gave jointly with the Ukrainian president, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, insisted on the need for strong security guarantees to protect both Ukraine and Europe’s vital interests. “Ukraine must be able to uphold its sovereignty and its territorial integrity”, von der Leyen said. At the video conference of the leaders of the coalition for supporting Ukraine on Sunday afternoon Romania was represented by its president Nicusor Dan, who voiced readiness to contribute together with the United States and European partners to the process of offering solid security guarantees. The Romanian official has also said that ceasing attacks against civilians and civil infrastructure is the first step Russia must take in order to prove its genuine commitment to a real peace process.
MEETING The Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister, Oana Ţoiu has told the public TV channel that a visit by President Nicusor Dan to the United States and his meeting with his American counterpart, Donald Trump, will most likely take place in the first quarter of the next year. On September 20, the Minister will be in Chicago with three main objectives on her agenda: participation in the UN General Assembly, meeting the Romanian communities in both New York and Chicago and preparations for the Romanian president’s planned visit to the United States.
TENNIS Romanian tennis player, Sorana Cirstea has made it to the main draw of the WTA 250 tournament in Cleveland, Ohio, with more than 275 thousand dollars in prize money. The Romanian clinched a 6-2, 6-2 win against Rebeka Masarova of Switzerland in the last qualifying round. Cirstea won a check of 3,110 dollars and 19 WTA points. She will be facing Moyuka Uchijima of Japan in the next match, which will be the first encounter of the two athletes. Romania’s second representative on the main draw, Gabriela Ruse will be taking on 8th seeded Hailey Baptiste of the USA.
GREECE The 40 Romanian firefighters deployed to Greece to assist in putting out fires in the region kicked off their activity at the base of Nea Makri where they had joined their French counterparts. According to the General inspectorate for Emergency Situations, in order to strengthen cooperation and provide an effective response, every module got involved in demonstrative drills, presentations of the technicnologies and equipment used. The 40 Romanian firefighters arrived in Greece on Saturday to replace their colleagues who had assisted the local authorities in their efforts to contain wildfires for a couple of weeks.
WEATHER The weather is getting cooler mainly in Romania’s central and eastern regions, where temperatures dropped below the period’s average. The hot weather will linger a bit in the country’s south and south-east, with showers and thunderstorms expected in the south, center and isolated in the rest of the territory. The highs of the day may range between 23 and 33 degrees centigrade. The noon reading in Bucharest was 20 degrees.
(bill)
