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.