In short, this is exactly how Klaus Iohannis’ visit to the United States can be summed up: Romania gives everything and receives nothing! From the energy resources of the country to the port infrastructure and promises of future arms purchases from the USA, the Saxon who has a floating visa in Cotroceni for only about six months (Glory be to God!) negotiated his next position by throwing on the game table… all of Romania! What did we get from Uncle Sam instead? A few appreciative statements and no promises regarding the inclusion in the “Visa Waiver” Program (that there can be no question of the definitive lifting of the restrictions!).
Does the “strategic partner” want to challenge Russia? Iohannis is here, ready to stick the stick through the fence. He also did it in Washington, when he said that “the war is in the Black Sea, in the Black Sea region, not in another region. We need to focus more, be more concrete, develop specific objectives, develop strategies (…)”. He didn’t say a word about how he wanted to do that, especially since, he should have pointed out, if he didn’t know, foreign warships can’t be stationed in the Black Sea, according to the Montreaux Convention. Not to mention that Traian Băsescu recently reminded why the Black Sea is still under Russian control – Moscow’s submarines, equipped with cruise missiles, the decisive factor that should make anyone think.
With an eye on the country’s reserves
However, Iohannis does not give a second thought to military and geopolitical strategy. Well, he doesn’t even seem to be good at that sort of thing, that’s for sure! At the White House, he put all of Romania on a tray and waited for Joe Biden to choose what he wanted.
Does he want to strengthen NATO’s Eastern Flank? Well, Iohannis knows how it can be done – Romania has everything it needs, mainly energy resources, and here the president pointed out the fuel needed to move the troops.
Indeed, our country is, among the NATO member states on the eastern flank, the only important player on the energy market – both producer and exporter. But, at the same time, the resources belong to the country, and the five stored gas deposits can be used (according to the law) only in case of emergencies. We say all this because we have the sad experience of emptying the State Reserves to support Ukraine, the Romanian authorities walking more than once in the “basket” for the neighbor from the north who, we remember, in the past years was so naughty with us as well.
“The presence of American troops on the territory of our country, in an increased number, represents a safety and stability factor, not only for Romania, but for the entire region (…) If we want to have a functional system on the Eastern Flank, it must have a tailored logistic coverage. For example, for fuel, it is an essential thing… any army stops if it runs out of fuel and we must have a supply system on the entire Eastern Flank. These matters are vital”, Iohannis found himself speaking.
This statement sounds like the president negotiated his political future using the country’s resources. What does Romania have to offer? We know too well: 1. Energy resources, which Iohannis refers to, and 2. Money (through foreign loans, obviously!), that is, we promise to take loans to buy weapons from the Americans, new or old, functional or decommissioned , it doesn’t matter, let the contracts and commissions flow!
Everything for Ukraine…
And, since we still mentioned Ukraine and Russia, Klaus Iohannis did not miss the opportunity to announce that, if Poland does not have the courage, Romania is ready to send a Patriot missile system to the Donbas front; as if we had too many, but, never mind, we defend ourselves with… article 5, we shoot at the Russians with it.
“Romania will continue to support Ukraine as long as it is necessary, and I conveyed this to President Biden. Our common priority, both of the European Union and of the United States, is to not allow Russia to win this war in Ukraine (…) Romania has such Patriot systems and I said that I am open to discuss, meaning that I will have to discuss at home, in the CSAT, let’s see how we can solve the problem, what we can offer”, said Iohannis, indirectly admitting that our country could send “only one Patriot system” to Ukraine.
… nothing for Romania
After clarifying the Ukraine issue and making sure that Biden’s ears were well tickled, Klaus Iohannis took the time to also bring up the issue of Romania’s acceptance into the “Visa Waiver” Program. Hungary, which is pro-Russia and never misses an opportunity to mock the American control over the world, has already been accepted into this program, Romania has not even received a date for “accession”.
In other words, the Visa Waiver is not for the faint of heart.
“We also addressed the issue of Romania’s admission to the “Visa Waiver” Program, a very important aspect for all Romanian citizens. Our objective is to fulfill all the conditions for inclusion in this program and we are confident that this will happen in the not too distant future”. The same words without cover, the same shower with sugar!
What did Iohannis leave behind at the White House? A promise made to America – Romania is ready to spend whatever the rule demands! “Romania is doing extremely well with the decision of 2.5% of GDP for defense. As tensions rise, the discussion will resume and if necessary, and this is what I said in the discussion with President Biden, we must be very clear and see that our defense industries must increase production (… ) Deterrence means we become stronger, and for that we need to allocate larger amounts to the defense industry, to those who deal with the acquisition of systems”.
Americans don’t even know where Romania is on the map!
Biden, with all his health problems, read the information he received from White House advisers well. And from his statement we deduce that the Americans don’t even know where Romania is on the map.
After thanking Iohannis for his “leadership”, the US president said: “You are incredible! The help you have given to Ukraine is real. It is significant. Unified support for the Ukrainian people – you have allowed a number of refugees to enter, to be in your country, about 8,000, I am told! Very much! That’s really something.” Did Romania receive 8000 refugees? You can find 8,000 Ukrainians if you go and count them on the terraces on Calea Victoriei, and if you take it further downhill, towards the Old Center, you discover another “8,000”.
In reality, the number of Ukrainian refugees entering Romania is much higher, and our country, yes, has really done a lot for Ukraine! He even sacrificed his own agriculture so that the grain harvested in Ukraine could be exported by the real producers – the American companies that control the lands of Ukraine, by decree signed by Volodymyr Zelensky himself!
