While Romanian PM says he supports 2-state solution, no guarantee made during Netanyahu's visit that Bucharest will vote against UN move.
By HERB KEINONNetanyahu Boc Romania 311(photo credit: Moshe Milner/GPO)
Romania will not support a Palestinian bid for statehood at the UN in September, senior government officials said Wednesday, following talks Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu held in Bucharest with the country’s leaders.According to the officials, it became clear after Netanyahu’s talks with Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc – and later with President Traian Basescu – that Bucharest would not cast a vote for the Palestinians.RELATED:Lieberman: Unilateral steps require unilateral responsesHerzog: Israel should vote in favor of Palestinian stateIsrael, Turkey rush to end flotilla crisis before UN reportThere was no guarantee, however, that Bucharest would vote against the move, and may abstain, along with a number of other European countries.Israel has set as its goal getting nearly 60 democratic countries – what has been referred to in Jerusalem as the “moral minority” – to not support the move, thereby depriving the Palestinians of a moral victory, and allowing the resolution to be passed on the strength of the Palestinians built-in majority in the General Assembly.Boc, at the press conference, said Romania supported a negotiated two-state settlement, and was opposed to unilateral steps.“The Palestinians are not grasping the price that they will pay if they unilaterally declare a state with the support of the UN,” Netanyahu told Boc – alluding to the possibility that the Palestinians may lose aid from the US, and some countries in the West, as a result of the move.Netanyahu, who discussed the developments in the Arab world with Boc, said that Arab countries could learn from Romania about how to transition into a democracy.Click for full Jpost coverage“The peoples of the Middle East can look at Romania and see where you were, where you are today, and in what direction you are headed,” Netanyahu said. “I believe that in this way you can serve as a model to the countries of the Middle East so they can learn about how to make the change.”Netanyahu is scheduled to fly to neighboring Bulgaria on Thursday, where he will be met by eight other Israeli ministers and deputy ministers for a joint government meeting with the Bulgarian cabinet.He will also meet with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and President Georgi Parvanov.Netanyahu is scheduled to return to Israel Thursday night.
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