Update: Tariceanu accuses US Ambassador Klemm of “distorted presentation of the Romanian realities”. Ambassador Maior releases viewpoint

Senate Speaker Calin Popescu Tariceanu accuses US Ambassador Hans Klemm of “distorted presentation of the Romanian realities” in the United States. The accusation was made in the context in which the ALDE leader tackled the criticism from Washington to Bucharest regarding the rule of law, in a TV talk-show at Digi 24 TV private broadcaster, Thursday evening.

Tariceanu paid a visit to Washington DC a few days ago, not as Senate Speaker, but through a lobby firm.

“Our relation with Washington is blocked by the current Ambassador,” Tariceanu said.

He added that Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu is aware of the criticism, after the calls from Romania to replace Ambassador to Washington, George Maior. However, President Iohannis is in charge with replacing the ambassadors, Tariceanu said, accusing the head of state of being “somehow partaker to Maior’s attitude, who made major disadvantages to Romania.”

“We are talking about erroneous perceptions, the correct or incorrect functioning of the judiciary or influencing the rule of law, with information delivered by known channels. I believe the Romanian ambassador to Washington, in this regard, was not alone in this demarche, Ambassador Klemm also contributed,” Tariceanu said.

He added: “Klemm did not fell into a trap, neither did Maior, as he is one of the representatives of the occult power system that worked in Romania.”

Senate Speaker Calin Popescu Tariceanu met on Tuesday, in Washington DC, US Vice-President Mike Pence and invited him to pay a visit to Romania, in order to find out directly, from a country in the first line of the NATO Eastern flank, the realities and the current issues.

In a release, the Romanian Senate informs that Speaker Tariceanu met US Vice-President Mike Pence and Lt. Gen. (ret) Keith Kellogg, National Security Adviser to the VP. He reaffirmed the importance of deepening the cooperation framework within the Romania-US strategic partnership, which, in his vision, is built on issues exceeding the momentary issues of political governance in the two states.

Ambassador George Maior sends viewpoint of Romanian-US relations

Following the accusations, the Romanian Ambassador to the US, George Maior, has sent a viewpoint on the Romanian-US relations.

“The Romanian-US relations are at the peak since the establishing of diplomatic relations almost 140 years ago. In recent years the bilateral relations have profoundly consolidated, reaching a historic high,” the release reads.

Maior also conveys congratulations to the Foreign Ministry and to all diplomats who have worked hard to reach this point. He enumerates the realities during his term:

• The President of Romania was the first head of state from central and Eastern Europe to meet the US

  President, and the first time in 40 years when the Romanian President had, together with the US President, a press conference with global audience on the White House lawn.

• The Romanian PM had, for the first time in 15 years, an official meeting with the House of Representatives’ Speaker, and high level meetings with members of the US Administration.
• In the past years, the Romanian embassy in the US organized more than 25 official visits at level of Prime Minister, deputy PM and members of Government. (…) In the past two months, the intensity of high-level official contacts in Washington, between the representatives of the two countries, is unprecedented.
• During my term, more than 30 Romanian MPs paid visits to Washington.
• We organized in Bucharest, together with the American party, the largest economic mission, with the participation of over one hundred US companies. The bilateral trade has grown by over 20%, Romanian exports have significantly increased.
• Cultural relations have intensified (…).
• Romania’s image and legitimacy force in the US have improved significantly (…).
• The Romanian Embassy will work in the coming period to organize visits to the US of the President, the Prime Minister and any Romanian official. We also work to seal visits of high-level US representatives to Romania.
• All these have led us to the peak of the bilateral relations in the past almost 140 years, with strong developments in all fields: economic, politic, defence, culture, education, the release concludes.