In late January Romania's foreign minister Adrian Cioroianu was telling the Serbian foreign minister Vuk Jeremici that Romania was interested in not admitting the independence of Kosovo. But when attending the meeting on the 2007 activity of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the minister took the opportunity to give some details on his statement on Kosovo. The head of Romanian diplomats announced yesterday that Romania wouldn't be opposing the independence of Kosovo. He said it just one day after the President of Romania Traian Basescu had highlighted in his talk to the President of France Nicolas Sarkozy that Romania wasn't going to acknowledge the independence of Kosovo. According to minister Cioroianu, Romania isn't against the independence of Kosovo, but it is against a solution not agreed on bilaterally. He argued he wouldn't want Romania's approach to be interpreted as pro-Serbian or anti-Kosovo. He pointed: "It is the fact that we have expressed theoretical support for a bilaterally accepted solution." He said it a few minutes after having mentioned that Romania was ready to accept a long-term, feasible solution to the issue, a solution to abide by international norms. The change in the foreign minister’s discourse is emerging at times when the Romanian President has just told President Sarkozy that Romania would be a partner very loyal to the EU decisions, but it wouldn't admit the unilaterally-declared independence of Kosovo. (...)

(A.M.L.)