Traian Basescu seen from Moscow
Traian Basescu seen from Moscow
(gasesc textul meu din Romania Libera tradus in engleze si ramin surpsins.. Nine O’Clock issue 3818 page 4 at 2006-11-27)
Little has been written in the Russian media about Romania. But as of lately, they have been writing a little more, and most texts concern Romania and its relationship with the Republic of Moldova and Transdniester, NATO and the EU integration. President Traian Basescu’s statements are being commented on, and seen as somewhat exotic. His projects and statements on foreign policy are met with surprise, at best. An ambitious project such as the “Bucharest – London – Washington axis” can only be regarded with irony and scepticism. They, as well as us, are well aware of the elementary history and foreign policy rule: an imbalanced medium and long-term alliance is counterproductive, and the weak ones stand to lose. Smaller states will always come out losing from such alliances. As for the more realistic regional projects, such as the Black Sea Forum for Dialogue and Partnership, Russia has always been absent from these, on grounds that the already existing Black Sea Economic Cooperation pact is sufficient to handle regional issues. As for the settlement of the Transdniester issue, Romania’s presence has not been deemed necessary. President of Romania’s recent statements only define him as one of the populist politicians who regard the relationship with Russia in terms of the old “good guys – bad guys” bipolar policy. A closer look at Mr. Basescu’s statement on the relation between the EU and the Russian gas will bring to light a number of serious problems. In terms of foreign policy, the question is not whether Basescu is right or wrong, but whether Romania stands to gain or to lose from such an approach. What we should know is that Traian Basescu’s statement is tardy and, more importantly, it is mistimed with respect to what happened a while ago in the Western media and politics. The EU – Russia Summit was only recently held in Finland, this October, with the EU presenting its strategy, energy policy and position as to Russia. These things have been mentioned and signalled by the Western media. The issue was turned inside out by experts in the field, and not by state presidents. Without neglecting that a real problem does exist in the field, European states have long undertook concrete and pragmatic projects jointly with Russia, and Romania tends to be absent from these projects. Unfortunately, Romania was not even able to negotiate the gas price, and resorted to go-betweens that only raised these prices. What is even more annoying for Russia is the manner in which the Basescu administration proposes the solving of the Gazprom “political pressure” on the EU. Apart from being a tardy advice, outside an organised framework dedicated to this issue, the solution it proposes is that “NATO should undertake security risks, including energy security hazards.” This proposal already poses a serious problem. First of all, NATO is a sensitive topic for Russia, and secondly, one cannot solve an economic problem having “political pressure” aspects through a military and political structure like NATO. In terms of the current Western policy, NATO may always be a last solution, and never a first solution. Such a proposal, just like the one in which the President of Romania was inviting the R. of Moldova to join the EU together, are outside Romania’s competencies, as defined by the rules of the game.
While Romania is making populist anti-Soviet statements, Russia is negotiating with the US, in the twelfth hour, its accession to the World Trade Organisation, although it is required to first solve its problems with Moldova and Georgia, and Germany calmly carries on the development of joint economic projects. Unfortunately, Romania has not yet managed to overcome the Ceausescu-type foreign policy rhetoric on the relationship with Russia, a country that should be approached, first and foremost, with pragmatism.
by Vasile Ernu
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February 26th, 2014 @ 9:13 am
Traian Basescu seen from Moscow : Vasile Ernu chiar ca merita inclus in cele mai tari saituri din Romania.