"Mr Lavrov's reaction [Russian diplomacy chief] was as moderate as possible", Romanian Foreign Affairs minister Teodor Baconschi after the Parliament hearing in the foreign policy and defence commissions, where he gave details on the American missile shield being hosted by Romania.
The meeting took place behind close doors, starting with 2 pm and concluding after approximately two hours. Romanian Intelligence Services (SRI) head George Maior, Defence minister Gabriel Oprea, Romanian Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE) vice-director and Foreign Office rep Bogdan Aurescu took part as well.
President of the Senate's Defence Commission president Teodor Melescanu asked that only ORNISS certificate holders remain for hearings. The certificate grants access to state secrets.
"The missile shield system will cover the entire national territory, will confirm the excellent dynamic of the strategic Romanian-American partnership, will visibly increase Romania's geopolitical and regional relevance, will not demand significant economic costs, quite in the contrary, and it is due to be implemented after the Parliament ratifies it", Baconschi resumed the conclusions.
According to him, the negotiations will take about a year and a half and expressed the interest of maintaining a permanent cooperation with the parliamentary commissions to "guarantee the transparency of the process and the construction of the political consensus".
Asked to comment his Russian homologue Serghei Lavrov's reaction following the announcement made by the Romanian President, the Romanian diplomacy chief stated that Russia's reaction was moderate. Baconschi recalled the negotiations for START II treaty and suggested that such a decision was communicated by the Americans to Russian and accepted.
"The negotiations for START II are carried on,
