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May 7, 2003
US EMBASSY STATEMENT ON PRESIDENT ILIESCU'S INTERVIEW CARRIED BY DEUTSCHE WELLE
Regarding
President Iliescu's radio interview carried by Deutsche Welle,
we have reviewed the full and complete transcript of the original
interview.
On Iraq, the President has always been firm in his support of
U.S. efforts to bring about the disarmament of Saddam Hussein's
regime. In the interview, President Iliescu spoke about his preferences
for peaceful solutions if possible. We would agree and add that
in the complete text, the President was also correct in noting
that sometimes there are situations where people are simply unable
to rid themselves of tyrannical regimes by such means.
The actions of the Romanian Government on this issue speak for
themselves. In the support provided during the Iraq conflict,
Romania showed it was a steadfast ally. That support continues
with the offer of almost 1000 Romanian troops to assist with Iraq
reconstruction and other tasks in the region.
On the issue of corruption, the fact is, as emphasized by the
President, the Ambassador is a friend to Romania. In addition,
the Ambassador's views and those of the U.S. Government on the
problem of corruption in Romania coincide with those of the President.
Although Ambassador Guest is now in Washington, he conveyed to
us how important it is for the US in particular, and indeed for
everyone who has Romania's best interests at heart, to remain
publicly engaged in the issue of combating corruption. This is
particularly important for the United States, due to our efforts
to help Romania create a business-friendly environment to attract
more American investment.
Many U.S. companies hesitate to enter the Romanian market precisely
because of worries about corruption. A few others have come and
left because of the corruption problem. Therefore, from our point
of view, this is not a purely domestic issue.
The US Embassy has always had a strong, positive and cooperative
relationship with the President, and he is quite right in noting
that ultimately the fight against corruption is Romania's to win,
based on the political will to do so. We look forward to further
concrete steps in this effort.
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