Der Spiegel: Ion Iliescu approved a request for a CIA ‘location’ in Romania

Ion Iliescu approved “in principle” in 2003, a US request to set up a CIA centre in Romania, without knowing that it would be a facility for detention, details being known by Ioan Talpe?, head of the presidential Administration at the time, writes Der Spiegel.
In late 2002 and early 2003, the United States filed a request concerning the hosting by Romania of a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) centre.
“American allies have asked us to provide a location,” says Ion Iliescu in an interview with Der Spiegel magazine, explaining that he had approved the request “in principle”, details being set by Ioan Talpe?, who was director of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE) and then was head of the Presidential Administration and Head of the Presidential National Security Department, according to Mediafax.
Ion Iliescu said that he approved only a “location” for the CIA, without knowledge that it was some special centre for detention.
Talpes, who had been SIE head during 1992-1997, admitted last year, also for Der Spiegel, as the first Romanian officer admitting to the issue, that the CIA had in Romania a “transit centre”. Talpes has supported Iliescu’s statements, according HotNews.ro.
Ioan Talpe? confirmed that the president at that time, Ion Iliescu, let him have “full swing” to deal with the problem of providing an office for the CIA. Talpe? said that the location was offered in Bucharest, being used in 2003-2006, explaining that this establishment does not currently exist.