Romania and the Situation in Ukraine

A hybrid war — this is how President Traian Basescu has described the conflict in eastern Ukraine, not far from the border with Romania. The Romanian head of state believes Russia is waging a proxy war, using Chechen, Cossack and Trandniestrian separatists deployed in the area to support the pro-Russian rebel militias. At the same time, it is also a form of guerilla and information warfare, to which the pro-Russian separatists have just added acts of terrorism.

Roxana Vasile, 22.07.2014, 13:43

A hybrid war — this is how President Traian Basescu has described the conflict in eastern Ukraine, not far from the border with Romania. The Romanian head of state believes Russia is waging a proxy war, using Chechen, Cossack and Trandniestrian separatists deployed in the area to support the pro-Russian rebel militias. At the same time, it is also a form of guerilla and information warfare, to which the pro-Russian separatists have just added acts of terrorism.

Responsibility for the latest developments, the Romanian President argues, lies with the separatists, but also with Moscow, which has given them political support, military personnel and equipment, including heavy weaponry. The President’s criticism comes as the international community is going at great lengths to shed light on the circumstances of last week’s crash of a Malaysia Airlines passenger flight that killed all 298 people onboard. Who is responsible for this attack?

Traian Basescu: “Based on an analysis and the intelligence we have at present, we believe the terrorist group in Eastern Ukraine is directly responsible for shooting down the Malaysian Airlines plane. The Russian Federation has provided the rebels with specialists and equipment to carry out the strike, and therefore is equally responsible. I have heard president Putin’s plea against politicizing this incident. No one is politicizing it, but president Putin cannot hide from this, shunning responsibility with lies and deferrals”.

In this context, can the European Union do more than it has already done? According to President Basescu, the answer is definitely yes.

Traian Basescu: “Sanctions should have been applied a long time ago. There should have been harsher economic sanctions to dissuade the Russian Federation from fuelling the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Of course, there have always been arguments against such measures: one country may have large investments there, another country may be supplying them with state-of-the-art equipment. Some may rely on Russian energy exports, while others simply try to be on good terms with both the EU and the Russian Federation, and simply try to stay out of it. Of course, the economic aspects are extremely important. But the European Union is all about values, and our greatest value is the European citizen and his safety”.

The more the EU delays imposing harsher sanctions on Russia, the higher the price Europe will pay for not putting an end to Vladimir Putin’s ambition to rebuild the former Soviet Union, President Traian Basescu concluded.