Unofficial translation from Russian

We have taken note of the Agence France-Presse (AFP) report from Moscow of February 13 about the upcoming visit of Romanian President Traian Basescu to Russia, which begins with just this paragraph: "Ahead of a two-day visit of Romanian President Traian Basescu to Russia, the Russian side called on Bucharest to refrain as a NATO member from actions which might have an 'an adverse impact' on relations with Moscow."

Actually Alexander Yakovenko in a written interview on Russian-Romanian relations, posted on the Russian MFA and RIA Novosti sites on February 13, said literally the following: "… We hope that the country's membership in NATO and the process of its integration into the European Union will not impact adversely the achieved high level of Russian-Romanian political relations and the prospects for the building-up of trade-and-economic cooperation."

The French journalists appear to have freely and incorrectly interpreted what the Russian MFA Spokesman said. Such interpretations, judging by the telephone inquiries that the Ministry's Information and Press Department has received from a number of journalists, create an incorrect view of Russia's position.

We expect from the Agence France-Presse Moscow Office appropriate action to correct this distortion.

We hope that our Romanian partners, other commentators and analysts have taken note of the difference in interpretation between what our Spokesman actually said and the AFP Moscow correspondent's report.

February 14, 2005