Traian Basescu, the President of Romania delivered yesterday a speech at the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly in Strasbourg. He talked about several issues, like the importance of the Black Sea, Romania’s accession to EU, the current status quo and the future of the Moldavian Republic, the national minorities status, Transdniestria, etc.

The Romanian Ziua daily writes about the exchange of retorts between the Romanian President and the Russian deputy Constantin Kosacev.

Kosacev asked if the presence of the US military bases in Romania was in keeping with all conventional forces in Europe and the Russia-NATO Treaty, stipulating NATO might not have large forces on the territory of new members.

President Basescu responded that Romania did not break any international agreements, and to complete his answer, he told the Russian deputy:
“The Russians stayed in Romania for 30 years, and we have never asked you why!”
Apparently, this response astonished the deputy, but it attracted the applause of the other deputies.

President Basescu may lack the basic diplomatic skills, but this time he said it right.