Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BUCHAREST1385
2006-09-05 15:59:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Bucharest
Cable title:  

ROMANIA: CODEL LANTOS DISCUSSIONS WITH ROMANIAN

Tags:  PREL PGOV OREP HU LE AF IZ IS RO 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BUCHAREST 001385 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/NCE AND H

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/04/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV OREP HU LE AF IZ IS RO
SUBJECT: ROMANIA: CODEL LANTOS DISCUSSIONS WITH ROMANIAN
PRESIDENT, PRIME MINISTER, AND FOREIGN MINISTER


Classified By: DCM Mark A. Taplin for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BUCHAREST 001385

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/NCE AND H

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/04/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV OREP HU LE AF IZ IS RO
SUBJECT: ROMANIA: CODEL LANTOS DISCUSSIONS WITH ROMANIAN
PRESIDENT, PRIME MINISTER, AND FOREIGN MINISTER


Classified By: DCM Mark A. Taplin for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).


1. (C) Summary: In separate meetings with the Romanian
President, Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister August 31,
Congressman Tom Lantos (D-California) expressed appreciation
for Romania's military contributions in Afghanistan, Iraq,
and the Balkans. He briefed on his recent visit to Lebanon,
and thanked Romanian leaders for taking steps in changing the
country's approach to Holocaust education. He underscored
continuing concerns about the influence of hate groups and
extremist right-wing parties in Romania and elsewhere in
Central and Eastern Europe. The Congressman also urged the
Prime Minister to resolve pending issues including the
acceptance of Nazi deportees from the United States.
President Basescu explained his reasoning behind Romania's
recent decision not to contribute troops to UNIFIL, saying he
did not want to involve Romanian soldiers in Lebanon given
the vague UNSCR mandate and ROE. He added, however, that he
was open to reconsidering this decision if "expressly
requested" by the international community. Prime Minister
Tariceanu echoed the President, arguing that even with
15-30,000 troops in Lebanon, UNIFIL was unlikely to succeed
absent tougher ROE and--more importantly--an overall
political settlement including the concurrence of Hezbollah's
"protectors" (Iran and Syria). Tariceanu did not respond
directly to the Congressman's request to facilitate the
acceptance of Nazi deportees. However, he commented that
while his main task had been on assuring Romania's EU entry,
he was now hoping to increasingly turn his attention to
US-Romanian bilateral issues. End Summary


2. (C) Rep. Lantos prefaced his meeting with President
Traian Basescu by expressing appreciation for Romania's
military presence in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Western
Balkans. He noted that in 2001, he had introduced a bill to

make U.S. assistance to Lebanon contingent on the Lebanese
army deploying on the border with Israel. Such a move might
have prevented the recent war. He added that without a
UNIFIL deployment to the Syrian border, Hezbollah would be
resupplied by Syria, making a second war with Israel likely.
President Basescu agreed that absent an effort to disarm
Hezbollah and to cut off resupply from Iran and Syria,
Hezbollah would continue to grow. He opined that Hezbollah
was becoming an "angel" in the eyes of Arab populations, if
not in the eyes of their leaders. Basescu said that he
distrusted UNSCR 1558, adding that he and his advisors did
not want to involve Romanian troops in disarming Hezbollah
given the vague UNSCR mandate and ROE. Basescu also referred
to recent television footage of a damaged UNIFIL compound
adjacent to a site used by Hezbollah for launching rocket
attacks, underscoring that he was loathe to allow Romanian
peacekeepers to encounter similar risks. He added, however,
that he was open to reconsidering this decision if "expressly
requested" to do so.


3. (C) Rep. Lantos also thanked the President for taking
steps in changing Romania's approach to Holocaust education.
Basescu replied that Romania continued to be very interested
in the security of Israel, not least because a half million
Jews of Romanian background lived there, but also because of
growing economic ties between the two countries. Basescu
agreed with Lantos' observation that relations between
Romania and Hungary had improved greatly, adding he was
delighted that Viktor Orban had lost the 2006 parlamentary
election, and that he had even congratulated Orban for doing
so. In response to a query about the popularity of Greater
Romania Party (PRM) leader Vadim Tudor and the nationalist
right, Basescu responded that Tudor's party consistently
polled around 12-15 percent of the electorate. The
President predicted that the new party of industrialist Gigi
Becali could divide the extreme right in the future, ensuring
that Tudor's vote would never rise beyond the 15 percent mark.


4. (SBU) Rep. Lantos also introduced two representatives of
a business delegation accompanying Codel, Computer Based
Solutions CEO Philip Friedman and IBM Vice President Thomas
Conway. He noted that they were interested in opening a
technology support center and software development center in
Romania. Basescu promised to support efforts to promote U.S.
investment, adding that he expected Romanian infrastructure
to improve dramatically within five or six years after EU
entry.


5. (C) Rep. Lantos raised similar themes during his meeting

BUCHAREST 00001385 002 OF 002


with Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu, praising
Romanian support of U.S. efforts, including contributions in
Iraq and Afghanistan. He said he hoped that Romania would
recognize that Lebanon was not simply a U.S. responsibility,
but one for the entire civilized world. Lantos also
commended Romania for strengthening Holocaust education, and
said he hoped that Romania's legislature would approve
measures to allow former Nazis to be returned to Romania.
Lantos said he was delighted to see Romania's enormous
economic progress, adding that he was jealous of its 6
percent GDP growth. He noted the presence of the premier
company from his congressional district--Oracle--in Romania
and welcomed the growing interest of U.S. firms such as IBM
in investing in Romania. Finally, Lantos said that he was
following closely the growth of right-wing movements in the
region.


6. (C) Prime Minister Tariceanu responded that Romania was
concerned about the Lebanon situation and that it had an
excellent relationship with Israel. In explaining Romanian
reluctance to provide peacekeepers in Lebanon, he opined that
even with 15,000 or even 30,000 troops, UNIFIL was unlikely
to succeed absent tougher rules of engagement. Tariceanu
also noted the importance of reaching an overall political
solution in the Middle East, adding that this was where the
European Union could play a more important role. The PM
observed that it would be impossible to get Hezbollah to
withdraw from its positions in South Lebanon without the
concurrence of its "protectors"--Syria and Iran. Romania
understood it had to share the burden in the region, he
added, and was willing to contribute to peaceful solutions.


7. (C) Tariceanu evinced satisfaction with economic trends,
noting that GDP growth may exceed 6 percent this year, with
diminishing inflation. He said that the new flat tax had
resulted in a 37 percent growth in government revenues.
Unemployment had fallen to 5.1 percent. In closing,
Tariceanu said that he had good news in terms of attracting
foreign investment, noting that the way had been cleared for
two leading U.S. car manufacturers to bid on a major
automotive plant in Craiova. While EU accession had been his
main focus in recent months, the PM stressed, with EU entry
on January 1, 2007 all but assured, he was now turning his
attention to bilateral relations with the United States.


8. (C) In his session with Foreign Minister Mihai Razvan
Ungureanu, Congressman Lantos discussed ethnic tensions and
troubling ultra-nationalism in Romania and Lebanon. Lantos
expressed his concern about xenophobic figures like Tudor and
right nationalist soccer team owner Gigi Becali. At the same
time, he applauded Romania for coming to grips with the past
and moving forward on Holocaust issues. Striking a less
optimistic note than FM Ungureanu about generational change,
Lantos said he was troubled by the fact that Tudor and Becali
were making inroads among the youth; governments, he
stressed, have a responsibility to confront history. He
encouraged Ugureanu to work closely with his Hungarian
counterpart. He also asked Romania to support international
efforts in Lebanon.


8. (C) Ungureanu said generally shared Lantos view on the
"sheer hypocrisy" of European anti-Americanism, especially on
the question of "secret renditions." So much of what was
being said in Europe against the U.S. was coming from
ideological quarters, while the Russian Federation sits back
and gloats. It is sometime hard to determine who is worse.
Ungureanu said, in any case Romania and the US are fighting
in the same trenches against a non-traditional enemy,
requiring non-traditional weapons. On the rise of
ultra-nationalism, Ungureanu noted that there is no support
in the countryside for this, but only among a segment of the
"urban periphery." Ungureanu noted that he initiated the
first Joint Parliamentary Assembly between Hungary and
Romania, and knew that while the process is routine, the
substance and the work is concrete.


9. Note: Codel Lantos did not see/clear this message prior
to departing Bucharest.
Taubman