Mircea Marian: "The Romanian Press is pleased: Basescu- "the lifeguard" is visiting in two days, five countries of the Black Sea region, including Georgia."
The President of Romania "puts his shoulder at the chase of the Russian from the Caucasus," write the journalists. The tour has "the agreement of the European Union," announce well-informed sources, suggesting that the Romanian head of state would be the emissary of the people from Brussels.
In fact, with all respect for the physical effort by Traian Băsescu, Romania doesn't have the resources to help resolve the conflict in Georgia. To succeed a mediation, would have ment that Basescu to be received also by the Kremlin leaders, thing that didn't happened. It would be interesting to find out - but probably we will not succeed - if the diplomacy from Bucharest tried to arrange a visit to Moscow ...
In these circumstances, almost everything that can be obtained by the Romanian President is to poll the land in connection with the Nabucco pipeline prospects. Firstly, it is not yet clear whether the Russians will not install their troops exactly on that portion of the Georgian teritory which this pipeline will go through. But starting from the optimistic premise that this will not happen, Moscow still has a strategy to destroy the project: Gazprom intends to buy all the gas produced by the states from Caspic area - primarily from Turkmenistan - which could feed this pipeline.
Otherwise, the lightning-tournament of President Basescu is intended for domestic consumption. With a year before the elections, he wants to show that he has initiative in foreign policy. Further more, although Emil Constantinescu has decredibilized these words, Basescu is posing in the posture of leader who dominates the region of the Black Sea. In reality, precisely because of the electoral pressure, the president of Romania was extremely cautious. He avoided to condemn the attack of Russia and has not joined the heads of state of Poland and the Baltic countries, when they formed a human shield to defend the city of Tbilisi.
Also for the Romanian voter - scared by the possibility of dismantling Serbia to be repeated in Transylvania - Basescu said Wednesday, at Chisinau, one of the most stupid things of his diplomatic career: "As regards the Transnistrian conflict, (... ) we have concluded that it corresponds perfectly to what happened in Kosovo, to what happened in South Ossetia."Perfectly corresponds? Meaning that 45 states, including allies of Romania, recognized Kosovo puts them on them on an equal level with the Russians who invaded the Georgian territory and are controlling Transnistria? We can talk a long time if the Americans had proceeded correctly in Kosovo - I, for example, I think so - but the head of member country of NATO and the EU should think more before discrediting his partners, in full confrontation with the regime in Moscow.
When you take into account such statements - wild, if it would not harm Romania - you think that if a legal way by which Basescu to be required to pay at least the fuel consumed unnecessarily couldn't be found.