Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu and Chamber of Deputies Speaker Liviu Dragnea have received invitations to attend several events related to Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The invitation for the chamber’s speaker arrived at the Parliament and is discussed by the leadership of the legislative.
PM Sorin Grindeanu has also confirmed for Digi24 TV that the government received a similar invitation.
Liviu Dragnea and Sorin Grindeanu would supposedly attend a dinner on January 19 together with the US president-elect.
They are also invited on January 20 to attend the sworn in ceremony after which Donald Trump becomes the 45th US President.
About 900,000 people are expected to the ceremonies on Friday, as many as to the celebration occasioned by the inauguration of Barack Obama in 2013.
Presidency says only the ambassador will represent Romania
The Presidential Administration has announced Monday evening that only the Romanian ambassador in Washington, George Maior, will represent our country at the inauguration ceremony.
“According to the US practice on inauguration ceremonies for new presidents, the heads of diplomatic missions accredited in Washington are the only officials representing the heads of state and their governments at the investiture ceremonies. No foreign delegation, heads of state or government, according to this custom, is officially invited on this occasion.
This rule was reconfirmed explicitly on the inauguration of President Donald Trump, as outlined in the invitation sent by the State Department, on behalf of the Joint Congressional Committee for Inauguration Ceremonies, to all diplomatic missions in Washington. (…) Romania will be represented, according to the mentioned practice, by the Romanian Ambassador to the United States,” a release sent to Ziare.com reads.
Dragnea insists – I’ve decided to honour the invitation
Liviu Dragnea said on Monday he decided to honour the invitation.
“In the first place, I don’t understand why there is such a fuss on this invitation, it is an important event to which I was addressed an invitation and I have decided to honour it. Both I and the Prime Minister. The invitation came, tomorrow I will leave for the US, on Wednesday the Prime Minister will leave, and we’ll also come back. I have received that invitation from the committee organising this event, because, as there is no administration in office, officially the only structure addressing these invitations is this committee and I have received from this committee an invitation sent by the vice president of the respective committee. And I will go, I don’t understand why so much fuss. I understood I cannot represent the Romanian state, it is all right, if someone asks me something there, I will probably have the courage to speak and respond, if someone asks me something about Romania. I believe it is not forbidden,” Dragnea said at Parliament.
Asked if the invitation is made in person, the PSD leader maintained he does not wish to make the event look ridiculous, about which in fact he said he did not wish to speak in public.
“It is an important event and I really don’t want to make it look ridiculous, regardless of the dissatisfactions of one or another. It is an invitation which I received and which I will honour. I don’t want to comment on this anymore. I understand what the Presidential Administration has said, however I am determined to go. I didn’t give out this information, I wasn’t planning on publicly speaking about this invitation or, God forbid, brag about it. It came up, naturally, we discussed it in the Standing Bureau, it came out in the press,” Dragnea said.
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