Romanian MFA asks for talks with Libya’s Embassy on oil tanker attack

The Consular Department’s General Director, Bogdan St?nescu stated on Tuesday that the Romanian Foreign Affairs Ministry (MFA) has invited Libya’s Embassy in Bucharest to discussions regarding the circumstances of the Sunday attack on a tanker in Libyan harbor of Derna in which a Romanian sailor has died.

“Even today our embassy in Tripoli has launched several requests to the Libyan Foreign Ministry. We are awaiting a response from the Libyan Foreign Ministry. At the same time, MFA has invited the Libyan Embassy in Bucharest to discussions on the circumstances and on the whole assembly of this event,” said on Tuesday, in a press conference, Bogdan St?nescu, the General Director of the Consular Department within MFA.

Asked whether Romania will request an international investigation, as Greece did, St?nescu said that after the discussions with the representatives of the Libyan Embassy “the political directions within the Ministry will outline an action policy”.

In her turn, MFA’s spokesperson, Brându?a Predescu, said that MFA is “in contact with the representatives of the Libyan authorities in Bucharest which were requested clarifications”. “These will come and the contact will be resumed today. However, not only the security situation over there should be understood , but also the manner in which the Government of Libya is dislocated, the Government not being placed in the capital,” said Predescu.

At the same time, Bogdan St?nescu said that currently the ship is in Tobruk harbor’s external roadstead for repairs in order to continue its route to Piraeus.

He also said that the Romanian Embassy in Tripoli has discussed twice with the other Romanian citizen on Monday evening, saying he is “safe”, that everything is OK, as he was not affected by the missile attack.

St?nescu stated that Romania’s missions in Tripoli and Athens “are monitoring the ship’s situation until it reaches Piraeus harbor ”. “When the ship will come to anchor in the harbor of Piraeus, a consular team of the Romanian Embassy in Athens is ready to go there in order to provide the entire consular assistance necessary both to the Romanian citizen, the father of the deceased, but also to fulfill all the formalities concerning the repatriation of the corpse,” said St?nescu.