The controversial announcement made by Romania’s PM as regards the relocation of the country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem has sparked a number of reactions
Lack of diplomatic skills, dilettantism in such a complicated field as foreign policy or a faulty assessment of the effects of such a move were some of the comments on the announcement that Romanian's PM Viorica Dancila made in Washington DC as regards the relocation of the country's embassy in Israel, from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
In reaction to the PM's announcement, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said the move demonstrates once more Viorica Dancila's complete ignorance with regard to foreign policy and to how important decisions for the Romanian state are made, and pointed out the final decision on this matter is the President's prerogative.
Iohannis also talked about the serious effects of the PM's announcement, such as the cancelling, by King Abdullah of Jordan, of the visit he should have paid to Bucharest early this week. Also, the Palestine Liberation Organization has harshly criticised PM Dancila.
Klaus Iohannis: "The King of Jordan was personally offended by the PM's approach at the congress in the US and decided to cancel his visit to Romania. This is a real problem for Romania. Romania has built a relationship with the Arab world that is based on trust. This is one of the few constants or was one of the few constants of Romania's foreign policy."
On the other hand, the Social Democrat Liviu Dragnea, the leader of the party that put PM Dancila at the helm of the Government, says that moving the Romanian embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem has only advantages. Dragnea has called on President Iohannis to take a decision on this matter as soon as possible, in the Supreme Council of National Defence (CSAT) and has reproached him for not having appointed an ambassador in Israel yet.
Liviu Dragnea: "Talks on this matter need to be initiated within the Supreme Council of National Defence and a decision must be made. Reacting to each other's statements does not help. At the same time, a big problem that we have with the state of Israel is that President Iohannis has refused, in the past two years, to appoint a Romanian ambassador to this country, in spite of having received a number of nominations from the Government."
The Liberals, in the opposition, have asked for the PM's resignation, for having damaged the image of the country. Liberal leader Ludovic Orban.
Ludovic Orban: "Romania's image will surely be highly damaged, at EU level. I remind Mrs. Dancila that she doesn't speak from a personal viewpoint, but as the PM of a country that holds the presidency of the Council of the EU and that all her statements are made from this official position."
The media in the EU has made negative comments on this matter. "The Romanian PM's announcement broke the joint EU and UN line that Israeli-occupied Jerusalem ought to be shared by Israel and Palestine in a future two-state solution," EUObserver has reported, also saying that it did extra damage to EU policy because Romania currently holds the six-month EU chairmanship.
However, not all reactions to the announcement are negative, as the PM's announcement was hailed by the American Vice President Mike Pence and the Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
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