Businessman Dragos Sprinceana is not an emissary of the Romanian state, he is a member of the Romanian diaspora in the US, he tried to lobby for Romania through the channels at his disposal, but „in no way” does he represent the official position of the Romanian state, which conducts foreign policy through the authorized institutions, said the interim president of the Senate, Mircea Abrudean, on Monday.
„I understand that the prime minister has clarified the position of Mr. Sprinceana, which in no way represents the position of the Romanian state, Mr. Sprinceana is not the emissary of the Romanian state, there is no such emissary, the Romanian state conducts Romania’s foreign policy through the authorized institutions, namely the Presidency, MAE [the Ministry of Foreign Affairs], which is part of the Government. Mr. Sprinceana is a member of the Romanian diaspora in the USA, as are others, and he has tried, I understand, to lobby for Romania through the channels at his disposal, but in no way does he represent the official position of the Romanian state. From this perspective, I think things have been clarified by the prime minister,” Abrudean said.
He added that the prime minister, when he engages the Romanian state in foreign policy, „does it in agreement with the Romanian President, according to the Constitution, and through the official channels at his disposal”.
Abrudean was asked to comment on the statements made by the „so-called special envoy” of Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu to the US, who said that the US administration should ignore Romania’s pro-Ukraine position, as long as we have an interim president „who will not matter in a month”.
As for an agreement between the Government and the Presidency on a person receiving mandate to represent Romania’s interests in the US, Abrudean said that he has no signals in this regard, emphasizing that this situation will be clarified in a „very short time”.
„I have no signals that there was such an agreement, just as there are no signals that there was an official emissary of the Romanian state to commit the position of the Romanian state. I think that this situation will be clarified in a very short time, I think that the Prime Minister has partially clarified it – whether or not there will be an authorized emissary, authorized by the Romanian state. So far no official decision has been made, the Romanian state is acting through MAE, in agreement with the Presidency and the Government. I believe that he [Dragos Sprinceana – editor’s note] spoke in his personal name, as a member of the Romanian diaspora in the United States, as many others, who, perhaps, have not been vocal or have not expressed themselves so far, however, there is a big difference between Mr. Sprinceana’s statements to the position of the Romanian state,” Abrudean said.
According to him, it is „very complicated” to talk about lobbying in Romania, but he admitted that, in the current world political context, diplomacy is changing and Romania will have to find other ways to deal with the new situation, „at least from the perspective of the relationship with the US”.
„It is very complicated to discuss lobbying from Romania’s perspective. On the other hand, we are all aware that the world has changed, that diplomacy is changing, that it is in a permanent effervescence, at least from the perspective of relations with the United States, and Romania will probably have to find other methods to tackle the new situation, not only through classic diplomacy, which is conducted through the state’s authorized institutions,” Abrudean concluded.
AGERPRES
