What the newspapers say: August 21, 2008

President Basescu’s visit in Ukraine and Moldova, in an attempt to prevent the burst of conflicts similar to the one in Georgia, makes it to the most front pages of newspapers on Thursday, as well as the slow withdrawing of Russian troops from the conflict areas in Georgia.

„Basescu gives a lift for banishing Russians out of the Caucasus” is the main headline in Evenimentul Zilei. Romania president Traian Basescu and Ukraine president Viktor Yushchenko suggested the replacing of Russian peacekeeping troops in Georgia and the self-proclaimed Republic of Transdniester with OSCE or European Union troops. Both officials say that the existing peacekeeping troops in frozen conflict areas proved their lack of efficiency.

During the meeting with Moldova president Vladimir Voronin, Basescu declared that the involvement of the European Union in Transdniester is essential and fundamental, in order to solve the conflict. Basescu believes that the situation in Transdniester is similar to the one in South Ossetia and Kosovo, the conflict being able to burst at any time, in case some further political conditions are achieved, Gandul notes.

Meanwhile, South Ossetia and Abkhazia demanded the Russian Parliament to recognize the independence of the two separatist states. According to the Russian Constitution, president Medvedev will have the final say in the matter, the Ria Novosti news agency informs. A week ago, after meeting Abkhazia president Sergey Bagaps and Ossetia president Eduard Kokoiti, president Dmitri Medvedev declared that Moscow will recognize and support any decision the two republics take for their future, Evenimentul Zilei reads.

In Cotidianul, the Western countries are annoyed by the slow pace of the Russian withdrawal from Georgia. Some 40 trucks carrying Russian military left South Ossetia on Wednesday, far from the fast and massive withdrawal Medvedev promised last week to French president Nicholas Sarkozy.

Back in Romania, a few important sport stars refused the proposals they received to candidate for the Parliament, representing various parties. Liberals were refused by the former rowing glory Ivan Patzaichin, who said that politics is a game without fair play, and by former athlete Gabriela Szabo who, in a more delicate manner, answered that she is too young to consider the proposal yet, Gandul reads.

In infrastructure, the Government finally decided that Bucharest must have three airports, since the existing two can no longer support the increasingly intense traffic. So, a new airport is bound to be built in the Southern area of Bucharest, to unburden the Otopeni and Baneasa airports which, in 2007, saw a total traffic of 5 million passengers., Cotidianul informs.