Romanian President Summons Government Over Russia

May 13, 2014

Romania's president has invited the government for a lesson on foreign policy after the prime minister said he had personally closed national airspace to a senior Russian official.

President Traian Basescu called Prime Minister Victor Ponta and key ministers to a meeting Tuesday to "clarify … queries about foreign policy, security and defense." As president, Basescu is the nation's supreme commander and is responsible for foreign policy.

Ponta said he had prevented Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin from entering Romanian airspace over the weekend while Basescu was busy campaigning.

Rogozin wrote in a Tweet: "Next time I'll fly on board a TU-160," referring to a Soviet-era strategic bomber.

Rogozin is one of the Russian officials sanctioned by the EU and the U.S. in response to the Ukraine crisis.

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