Prime Minister Nicolae Chuke says that in the case of the Bastroe Canal “there is data and information that it was dug more than what was agreed”, but “it is unnatural for such a topic to be raised and politically speculated”, according to Agerpres .

“I have authorized bilateral meetings in the near future so that we can openly and honestly have all the data and information on the table from one side and the other and determine bilateral solutions. The European Commission has also been notified so that together we can determine what happened and the measures that need to be taken to protect the Danube Delta, a natural heritage not only of Romania, but of world, European heritage. There are data and information that its dredging was greater than was agreed, namely by 3.5 meters. Last year, taking into account the need to export grain from Ukraine, an agreement was proposed on the possibility of conducting dredging works in the area of ​​the city, the port of Izmail, which was approved, and dredging vessels, as a rule, are present in the Bastro channel and on the Chiliya arm, usually performing technical work service. Now, to be able to clarify, we need the official data of each institution. We saw that there is clear evidence that the depth exceeds 3.5 meters, which needs to be clarified,” Chuke said in an interview with Antena3.

Answering the question of what measures will be taken if it is deepened further, he replied that “there are issues that are being resolved at international forums, which are directly related to the resolution of these violations of international treaties, to which both Romania and Ukraine are parties.”

“There is a technical solution to this issue. (…) At the moment, I do not consider it natural for such a topic to be considered and politically speculated, and there is still this assumption and obligation to provide the necessary support to Ukraine, to the Ukrainian people. It is clear that we must protect this natural heritage of Romania and the world,” Prime Minister Nicolae Chuke also stated.

The scandal surrounding the Bastro channel

Ukraine has not violated any agreement by deepening the Bastro Canal from the Danube to increase food exports from its river ports, and is ready to demonstrate the activity to Romania, said the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Yuriy. Sereda Vaskova is quoted by Reuters.

The clarifications came in the context of Bucharest asking Kyiv to immediately stop dredging work on Bastro, unless it is aimed exclusively at maintaining the waterway, and requesting emergency access to the area to check what work has been done.

The scandal erupted a week ago after Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu said that “there are signals that Ukraine is currently dredging the Bastro Canal, which may have an impact on the environment and the Danube Delta,” and “the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Natural Resources should position and inform”:

The following day (February 16), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it would convey to the European Commission that Romania opposes Ukraine’s intention – which is not new – to carry out dredging work on the Bastro Canal, clarifying that it was not any institution in Romania that reported the deepening of the canal Bastro, which will now be made by Ukrainians. MAE recalled the position of Romania, which does not agree with the proposal to include the branches of the Danube, Chile and Bastro, in the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).

Prime Minister Nicolae Cuke also reacted to the scandal on Monday, saying that the Ukrainian ambassador in Bucharest was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday to ask for Ukraine’s permission for Romanian authorities to go there to check.

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