"We reaffirmed our country's position that a negotiated solution between the parties, with no unilateral solution, is the only way to ensure real and solid grounds for a lasting peace," said Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc after a meeting Wednesday in Bucharest with his visiting Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu is in a rare visit to Romania as part of ongoing efforts to drum up opposition to the Palestinian plan to seek recognition of a Palestinian state at the United Nations in September. On Thursday, he will travel to Bulgaria.
Romania and Bulgaria are considered among the most friendly countries toward Israel in the European Union. Israel’s relations with the two countries benefitted from the deterioration in Israel’s ties with Turkey, as Israel sought to spruce up its ties with Turkey’s historic rivals in the region: Greece, Cyprus, Romania and Bulgaria.
In Sofia, Nethanyahu will meet his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borisov and President Georgi Parvanov.
The Israeli Prime Minister will be accompanied on the trip by eight ministers who will take part in the first joint government meeting.