September 26, 2014
A look at some of the top stories in Romania today.
România Internațional, 26.09.2014, 12:00
Bucharest rejects any form of external pressure on East European states and firmly supports Ukraine’s integrity and soverignity, said Romania’s prime minister Victor Ponta in his New York address before the UN General Assembly. He said the growing security challenges in the EU’s southern neighbourhood and the Middle East are a genuine reason for concern. The prime minister also reiterated Bucharest’s call for international solidarity in the face of new terrorist challenges, such as the Islamic State group, which, said the prime minister, threatens stability in the Middle East and beyond.
Romania’s foreign minister Titus Corlatean on Thursday attended an informal foreign ministers’ meeting of the states participating in the South-East European Cooperation Process hosted by Albania, the current holder of the Process presidency. Corlatean hailed the continuation of Romania’s initiatives durign its presidency, related to the reforms needed for the European and euro-Atlantic integration of the states in the Western Balkans. Romania held the Process presidency for the thid time between June 2013 and June 2014.
Moldova’s foreign minister Natalia Gherman said in New York that Russia must pull out its so-called peace keeping forces from the pro-Russian break-away region in Transdniester, in the east of the Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova. Gherman told the UN General Assembly that Moscow’s troops hinder the peace process and should be replaced by a civilian international mission. She also thanked the European Union for helping Moldova cope with the consequences of Russia’s ban on Moldovan food products. Transdiester de facto broke out with the Moldovan central government in 1992, following an armed conflict in which hundreds of people were killed and which came to an end with the intervention of the Russian troops siding with the separatists. Despite promising to pull out all its troops at an OSCE summit in Istanbul 15 years ago, Moscow still has forces in the region.
The RadiRo International Festival for Radio Orchestras today features a new concert from Romania’s National Radio Orchestra, this time together with violinist Alexandru Tomescu. Thursday saw a concert by the Stuttgart Symphonic Orchestra, which, in the 1970s, was conducted by the Romanian conductor and composer Sergiu Celibidache. Hosted by Radio Romania, RadiRo is Europe’s only festival dedicated entirely to radio symphonic orchestras. Its programme includes famous orchestras from Finland, the Czech Republic, Germany, France and Romania and is dedicated to the German composer Richard Strauss, whose 150th birth anniversary is celebrated this year.
The Romanian women’s tennis table team reached the quarterfinals of the European Team Tennis Table Championships hosted by Portugal. Romania defeated the host country in a decisive match on Thursday, 3-1. The defending European champion, Romania won against Spain and lost to Poland in its previous Group B matches. In the men’s competition, Romania ranked last but one in Group D, after a win against the Czech Republic and two defeats at the hands of Russia and Croatia.
