The talks between the President of Romania Traian Basescu and the Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko lasted more than three hours yesterday. They raised all the traditional topics of Romanian-Ukrainian relations, "reaching diagnoses and possible solutions", as the Romanian President put it afterwards. He gave some details: the Transdniester issue, national minorities, the siderurgy plant in Krivoi-Rog and Bastroe canal in particular. The very issues they had talked about one, two and three years before. The Ukrainian President informed the visas Romanians needed to travel to Ukraine would soon be settled, but he forgot to mention the situation of the Romanian-origin people in Ukraine. The two Presidents even signed a document consisting in the conclusions reached yesterday. And Ukraine is as unrelenting as before. Bastroe canal, a sovereign activity As far as Bastroe canal is concerned, Yushchenko claimed it was a sovereign territory and Ukraine had the right to proceed to sovereign activity there. After the meeting he mentioned this had been the longest discussion yesterday. He reminded that the issue had been tackled by the joint Romanian-Ukrainian presidential committee and he said Ukraine would meet all international requirements concerning environment protection. And he added there would follow common monitoring of all the projects to develop in the Danube Delta. Ukrainian authorities started to build Bastroe canal in March 2004, but Romania was informed officially about it in 2006, although, due to the project's transborder effect, Kiev officials should have informed Romanian authorities before starting the operation. By carrying out such a project Ukraine has broken the Espoo Convention norms. International environment protection organizations have often expressed opposition to the project, together with NGOs from Ukraine. The money for Krivoi-Rog President Basescu explained yesterday that Romania was not interested in continuing the investment in the siderurgy plant in Krivoi-Rog, because this industry had been privatized in our country. Still he emphasized: "But we are interested in the solution Ukraine will find for Krivoi-Rog. We expect to be asked for opinion on it and we want this solution to allow us to recuperate the about $ 1 billion Romania had invested in it. But this recuperation is not the most important thing. (...) It is most important that the solution should be fair for all the participants to this investment." President Yushchenko argued Ukraine wanted a transparent solution and he claimed his country would act in keeping with international obligations. No visa needed to travel to Ukraine According to the Ukrainian President, the visa free for Romanians was all right for Ukrainian authorities. And he said the matter was as settled already. As for the legislation on Romanians and Bulgarians, now citizens of the EU, but still required visas to travel to the EU, he answered: "I hope it will be settled by the end of the year and I see no problem with it. There is a formal aspect the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working on and we will reach a conclusion." But the Ukrainians and the Romanian-origin people in Ukraine who want to travel to Romania still need a visa, unfortunately.

Anca HRIBAN, George DAMIAN