Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu said that alluvium is being deposited in the Bastro Canal if excavation is not carried out continuously, and noted that after measurements it was found to be more than six meters deep, but now no more excavation is being carried out. is carried out He stated that it is good that Romania has come forward with this topic, as it has informed the US and the European Commission that this topic is a red line that cannot be crossed, News.ro reports.

“We sent all these things to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we sent them for many months. There on Bastro, if it is not dug constantly, alluvium forms, especially at the exit from Bastro, from the channel to the Black Sea. Believe me, I think that these sediments were deposited, they were dug up,” explained Sorin Grindeanu to Prima News.

When asked whether excavations were carried out beyond the norm, the Minister of Transport replied: “I sent all this to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

“Then conflicting information arrives, when someone said one thing, someone else. Of course, those who said that I should not have come out, that I am a Putinist and so on. I directed all this to those who deal with international treaties, namely the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and asked their point of view. (…) I sent twice, I also came back saying I was waiting for a point of view. They didn’t send him,” Sorin explained to Grindean.

The PSD minister was also asked what the results of the measurements were.

“They were at a depth of more than six meters. I don’t know if there are any more at the moment. Stop digging. (…) Then it was good that several of us came out and said that we still had to stop, we had to sit down at the table. They should use Sulina because Sulina is the only channel. First, the European Commission and the USA understood by supporting us. (…) Moreover, at a previous meeting, Ukrainians, including those in Galatza, asked and officially asked the European Commission to include the Bastro channel, which is one hundred percent located on Ukrainian territory, it is not even on the border with us, like Chile, which will be included in the European transport network, i.e. in TEN-T. I sent, we sent as a state, that we do not agree and that Sulina, these are official things. (…) It is very good that we reacted then, because we informed both the United States of America and the European Commission that this is a red line that we do not cross. And at this moment it cannot be passed. And I am speaking to you from the discussion table, not from hearsay,” Grindyanu also clarified.

See also:

• Data from the Ministry of Transport “blow away” the scandal in Bastro, started by Grindyan. What do the measurements so far show?

Hotnews.ro wrote from May 17 that data from the Ministry of Transport, after measurements made on the Romanian side, after the “Bastro scandal”, which was instigated by the Minister of Transport Sorin Grindeanu, show that the dredging was done in time for maintenance.

They were conducted on the Chilia Arm, at the entrance from Chilia to Bastro, where the water level is 6.80-7 meters and the sea draft is 6 meters, which means that only small vessels can enter.

According to the cited sources, the work is aimed at removing the alluvium accumulated in recent years, reaching depths that were recorded as reference almost twenty years ago, during the dispute between Romania and Ukraine.

According to HotNews.ro sources, Transports has been reporting measurements since 2004, the same data as now. Thus, after the measurements, it was concluded that only the alluvium accumulated in recent years was removed at the entrance from Chile to Bastro, taking into account that it reached the depth of 2004-2005, which corresponds to the first phase of Ukrainian Danube navigation. the project The second stage, which involved deepening, was no longer carried out.

• Out of politics in the Bistro-Delta Danube scandal: HotNews.ro took the blame of the Romanians and asked for an explanation from the Ukrainian ministry that did the work

The Bastro scandal: what he knew and what he told Grindyan

The scandal erupted on February 15 after Sorin Grindeanu, deputy prime minister and minister of transport, said “there are indications that Ukraine is currently dredging the Bastroe Canal, which may have an impact on the environment and the Danube Delta.” .

Media coverage of the case caused a cascade of reactions from the authorities in Bucharest, which, however, were more restrained, demanding explanations from the Ukrainian authorities about the work they are doing.

After the Ukrainian Embassy announced that only repair work was being carried out on the canal, the public confusion was further increased by the statements of the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, who talked about deepening the Bastroe Canal from 3.9 meters to 6.5 meters.

Marcel Čolaku also got in on the act, reminding how much Romania has helped Ukraine, but “the Romanian people do not agree to be left without this natural wonder, which is the Danube Delta.”

Did the Ukrainians suddenly start dragging? According to the statements of President Klaus Iohannis, they started five months ago, in October, and the Ministry of Transport knew about them.

“We know that work is underway, the Ministry of Transport has also known since October. So there is nothing new. They have officially informed us that they want to carry out dredging work, maintenance work and that they want to use the Bîstroe canal to export their goods, and we have given them a preliminary agreement until the work is clarified and the matter is reported to the European Commission. So there is absolutely nothing new here. Those who tried to make a big deal out of it don’t think they understood the stakes of that period, and I don’t think taking care of Delta is their number one concern,” Johannis said on February 22.

Where are they actually dredging? No government body has come forward to explain what it is really about, leaving room for public confusion and electoral speculation.

In fact, there is no dredging along the entire length of the Bastro Canal, for the simple reason that there is no need for it. According to the OSCE report, the natural depth of the Danube channel is 12-14 meters. The works are carried out at the ends, at the confluence with the Kiliysky arm and the exit to the sea. At the last end, 3 kilometers long, there were works, which in the past also provoked protest from the Romanian side due to the environmental problems they caused.

After the “blowing up” of the scandal, President Yohannis also intervened and declared that the Bastro scandal allegations were a “myth”.