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Romania has no intention to claim any rights on certain territories that were lost long ago, but the country feels like it has certain moral obligation not to abandon those who speak the same language (that is people from the Republic of Moldova), Traian Basescu said on Tuesday, before the plenary session of the Romanian Parliament, to whom he addressed related to the situation in the neighbouring Moldova.

'Romania has no intention to claim any rights on the territories that were lost in the past. Romania has no intention to launch any kind of talks over the sovereignty or borders of the Republic of Moldova. It is in Romania's direct interest to have as neighbourgh a stable and prosperous country. As a European state, we have the responsibility to explain our allies, the same as other states of the world, what happens on the other side of the Prut River (the River at the eastern Romanian border with the Republic of Moldova),' Basescu also said.

He added there are certain voices saying Romania should better forget about the Republic of Moldova and pretend instead has no special relation with the citizens of this country.

'What I want to say to them is to ask the Romanians what they think about whoever abandons his/her brother in difficult times. Our moral duty is not to abandon the citizens of the Republic of Moldova who speak the same language we speak, and with whom we share the same history, our moral duty is not to abandon those who want to share a future with us in the European Union, regardless if they are Romanians, Ukrainians, Russians or belonging to other ethnical group,' the President said.

Basescu also have an answer to those who asked him why he did not react immediately in this matter: he just didn't want to respond to provocation.

'I have instead wanted to address the joint chambers of the Romanian Parliament so as to voice my concern related to the recent events in the Republic of Moldova. I believe we have the moral duty to analyse together the situation created at the eastern border of our country, which is a EU border too (...) We did not want to answer such provocations in the latest week, which were only meant to justify the acts of repression of the Moldovan authorities by invoking the attitude and actions of Romania. Nevertheless, we cannot keep the silence forever, even if I can only come with a partial evaluation of the situation,' he told the MPs.

Basescu underlined that Romania's attitude is based on the values laid at the foundation of the European Union. AGERPRES