Described as a big success by the Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, her visit to Israel seems to have vexed Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis.
The proposal regarding the relocation of the Romanian Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, strengthening cooperation in the economic and military fields and other strategic issues were high on the agenda of the talks held on Thursday by the Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Liviu Dragnea and the Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu with the Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. Both the Romanian Prime Minister and Liviu Dragnea, the iron fist of the governing coalition made up by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, also met with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who hailed the launch, by the Romanian Government, of the internal talks concerning the relocation of the Romanian embassy. The Prime Minister has told the Radio Romania correspondent in Israel that her official visit to Israel was a success:
"At the meeting with the Prime Minister Netanyahu, we agreed to hold a joint government meeting, in Bucharest, to discuss projects in detail. I also had a meeting with the president of Israel, and we discussed the situation in the region, the geo-political situation and also the fact that Romania needs an ambassador to Israel. There is a person nominated for that office, and we are waiting for president Iohannis to endorse the nomination. Last but not least, I made what for me was an emotional visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, having also had a meeting with the Patriarch of Jerusalem. I was very happy to be awarded the Jerusalem Cross and Star."
However, Romania's President Klaus Iohannis doesn't seem to share the enthusiasm displayed by the Prime Minister, and has stated he actually did not understand the purpose of that visit. Klaus Iohannis:
"I will certainly ask Ms. Dancila why she went on that bilateral visit, without informing or calling me, at least out of mere courtesy, because, even if the Social Democratic Party does not like it, I am the president of the country and I am responsible for the country's foreign policy."
Against this background, President Klaus Iohannis has rejected any accusation of anti-Semitism and has hailed the fact that the relations between Romania and Israel are excellent. Voiced as early as Monday, before the Prime Minister's visit to Israel, his irritation was actually caused by the hasty manner in which the Government set forth the issue of the relocation of the Romanian embassy in Israel. A prospective talk on this issue is by no means wrong, the head of state has stressed. However, he has recalled that the European Union has firmly recommended all its members to abstain from moving their embassies until the Israelis and the Palestinians officially clarify the status of Jerusalem. Pundits in Bucharest say that the cohabitation of the right-wing president and the leftist Government, already tense due to many divergences regarding domestic issues, will from now on be affected by divergences on foreign affairs too.
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