Joint Press Conference of Traian Basescu , President of Romania , and Stephen Hadley, National Security Advisor

Cotroceni Palace , Bucharest , Romania
Sunday, October 23, 2005 , 12:00 noon

President Basescu : Good day. I had a meeting with Mr. Hadley, the National Security Advisor to President Bush. The issues included the continuation of our cooperation in Afghanistan and Iraq , the issue of the American facilities to be located in Romania , issues connected to democracy and security on the Black Sea , as well as the issues and the problems in the western Balkans. We have also raised issues that will come up in the Security Council where Romania will hold the chairmanship in the months to come. This is what we have discussed; I can present you with some points-of-view that we shared. Romania will continue its relationships with the partners in Afghanistan and Iraq . The issue of the Black Sea is to be settled by internationalizing the Black Sea and thus blocking the traffic in persons, drugs, and weapons and we are at the same time supporters of a very good relationship with the Russian Federation in the Black Sea area. We see the issue of the western Balkans solved by giving a firm perspective to the ex-Yugoslavian states for joining NATO and the European Union in the foreseeable future. I am sure that you are interested in hearing Mr. Hadley speak instead of me, since you can hear me every day. Please Mr. Hadley.

Mr. Hadley: Let me begin by saying what a pleasure it is for the American delegation to be here in Bucharest and we're very grateful for your hospitality, Mr. President. We are here because the relationship between the United States and Romania is a very important one. It is a warm relationship and a strong alliance. We are here also to say thank you to the government of Romania and the Romanian people for the support they have given us on so many important issues. We are allies in the struggle against terror in Afghanistan and in Iraq , and more generally. And we are allies in the spread of democracy and we appreciate, Mr. President, your bold leadership on these subjects. The United States and Romania are also strategic partners and as you could hear from the President's comments, as befits strategic partners we had a very substantive discussion on the important issues of the day. In particular, we talked about how to encourage freedom, democracy, and security in the Balkans and in the Black Sea area. So it has been a very useful and productive visit. We are aware that it was a difficult spring in Romania , because of the flooding. We were pleased to be able to participate in a small way in helping with that problem and we are grateful for the contribution that Romania made when the United States faced its own problems with Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico . We brought with us the greetings of our president to President Basescu . Let me thank you, Mr. President, for a very constructive visit.

President Basescu : Thank you Mr. Hadley. ( To the press ) You now have four questions in total. How you spread these four questions is your problem. I recommend that you address a minimum of four to Mr. Hadley. ( laughter )

Mr. Hadley: I thought it was two and two, Mr. President.

Q: Ciprian Baltoiu , ProTV News. Mr. Hadley, my first question goes to you. President Basescu told us that you discussed also about the American military facilities in Romania . Can you be more specific and tell us not if, but when, Romania will have some American military bases here?

Mr. Hadley: As you know, the discussions between the United States and Romania on this subject have been under way for some time and they have made very good progress. There is an issue of finalizing the relevant agreement and then signing it. The framework basically allows access to facilities so as to facilitate cooperation between the forces of the United States and Romania and I think, Mr. President, that we look forward to the conclusion of that agreement very soon.

Q: Diana Popescu of Romania of Tomorrow Television. Sir, I would like if possible, a brief comment of yours on the Mehlis report regarding the terrorist attack that killed the Lebanese ex-prime minister, Rafik Hariri , and, secondly, regarding this issue, what are your expectations regarding Romanian support given the request of President Bush for an emergency session of the UN Security Council.

Mr. Hadley: The president and I did talk about the issue of Syria and Lebanon . The views of my government were expressed by our president on Friday. We are obviously very concerned by the report about what it says of potential involvement of Syrian and Lebanese authorities in the assassination and what it says about Syrian cooperation with the investigation. President Bush is very concerned about the results of the investigation, which you know is ongoing, and that is why he thought it appropriate that the Security Council at the level of foreign ministers would take up the report this week and my understanding is that's what is now scheduled.

Q: Oana Stancu , Jurnalul National. I would like to go back the issue of the American facilities. Where are they going to be located? What place do they have in the Romanian – American relationship? How are they connected to the issue of the Black Sea ?

President Basescu : ( laughing ) I believe you are asking for too many details. But you can imagine the area Babadag , Constanta and, maybe, Fetesti . Practically, the negotiations have concluded and the agreement is with the State Department and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the last details. I believe that only minor details are still pending and the signature of the treaty has become an administrative issue. There are discussions of the opportunity of a visit to Romania .

Q: By whom?

President Basescu : The government of the United States will determine who is going to visit Romania . Last question please.

Q: May I just follow up. I'm with the American press corps. Just to follow up on the question on Syria . Mr. President, could you tell us exactly what kind of action, you think the Security Council should be taking, given the fact that you are in the chair. And Mr. Hadley, could you be more specific about what kind of ideas the United States may have about the kind of sanctions or other steps the Security Council might be prepared to take.

President Basescu : There is a report and we have to take account of it. This report has been conveyed to the president of the Security Council, our ambassador at the UN, on Friday. The report is on his desk and the distribution of the report to the members of the Security Council will be done today and tomorrow. Our point of view is that there has to be a resolution of the Security Council, which would run on two levels. On one level, continuation of the investigation and secondly, a strong warning to Syria to stop being a factor of instability in the region. Syria has to be given the chance to prove its good faith in the coming period on the grounds of a UN resolution. This is the Romanian point-of-view. Mr. Hadley?

Mr. Hadley: I don't have much to add to what President Basescu said. This effort of supporting the Mehlis investigation has been a truly international effort, in which the United Nations has been in the lead. We think the way forward is, as the President said, for people to read the report, for the Security Council to discuss it next week and for the members then to debate among themselves the kinds of steps that would be appropriate.

President Basescu : We thank you very much and bid you good day. Good bye.

(Source: US Embassy in Bucharest http://www.usembassy.ro/US_Policy/Press/Basescu_Hadley.html )