Ponta: We can afford an increase in sanctions for Russia

Prime Minister Victor Ponta says Romania can afford an increase in the sanctions against the Russian Federation, amid the current issues linked to Ukraine, due to its diminished dependence on the gas imported from Russia.

Prime Minister Ponta argued that Romania gets only 20 percent of the gas it needs from Russia and trade relations with the federation are up to EUR 5 billion.

“From an economic and social point of view Romania can afford an increase in the sanctions. (…) Romania, hopefully I am not mistaken, has trade relations with Russia under 5 billion euros. It’s a relationship (…), but should we stop tomorrow, Romania won’t collapse”, Ponta said.

He stated that Romania is directed towards the European Union, adding that Turkey is a strategic partner for Romania, yet we have a closer position to the USA.

“Romania is not a neutral state, a Switzerland where all parties could gather. Romania is a committed and active member of both NATO and the EU, so I don’t believe it could be seen as a third state, a mediator. (…) I definitely believe that Romania cannot be a bridge, it should be a stronghold of the European and transatlantic interests in this area”, the Prime Minister stressed.

The European Commission added new names and companies to its blacklist on Thursday over the Ukrainian crisis, according to diplomats. However, ‘stage three’ economic sanctions against Russia have again fallen flat, writes rt.com.

President Traian Basescu on Monday accused the European Union of being weak and too slow in imposing sanctions on Russia to deter it from encroaching further into Europe after its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea,

“We’re now facing a reality because we didn’t discourage Putin, because in Eastern Europe there’s a conflict fueled by the Russian Federation so that 192 Dutch citizens died on Monday,” Basescu told a news briefing.