Morning headlines – December 13th 2021

Coronavirus and vaccines

• Vaccination in Romania: In the last 24 hours, more than 26.000 people got vaccinated. Totally, more than 7,84 million people got the vaccine, with more than 7,64 getting both doses and 1,78 of them getting the third dose.
• Coronavirus in Romania: In the last 24 hours, there were recorded 716 new SARS CoV-2 cases, 60 deaths, and in ICU there are now 722 people hospitalized.â
• In Romania, we have 8 confirmed cases of Omicron. Altough the data is the issue changed, the solutions stay the same. The vaccination and observance of the prevention measures are very important against Omicron. (Government)

Global political and military events

• War clouds over Europe. The US Intelligence agencies have informed the European partners about Russia’s intentions to invade Ukraine at the beginning of 2022, having over 170.000 people ready.
• Putin wants guarantees that NATO will not extend towards the East. Vladimir Putin has stated that Russia needs guarantees from the US and NATO that the Alliance will not extend towards the east. Putin stated that he wants to meet Joe Biden in person to talk about the security situation. (Tass)
• G7 warns Russia over Ukraine’s invasion. The G7 member states have asked Russia to stop pressuring Ukraine through the dislocation of troops at the border and have warned the Kremlin about `massive` consequences in case of an invasion. The Foreign Affairs Minister from Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada, US, France and Japan reunited in Liverpool, on Saturday and Sunday.
• Ukraine criticizes Germany for blocking the military weapons transfer through a NATO agency. The new Ukrainian defence minister, Oleksy Reznikov, criticized Germany for blocking the military transfer to Kiev through the NATO Support and Procurement Agency. He refers to anti-drone and anti-snipers systems. The Ukrainian official considers that the equipment is part of the non-lethal weaponry. (Financial Times)
•  Putin called the URSS collapse a tragedy and the end of historical Russia. Vladimir Putin expressed his disappointment, on Saturday, about URSS’s collapse, calling the event a `tragedy and the end of historical Russia`. He stated that Russia lost, in 1990, a big part of its sovereignty, mostly depending on different financial tools. (Tass)
• Greece buys four patrol boats and upgrades its frigates for $ 7 billion. The US State Department has approved a possible sale of $ 6.9 billion worth of military equipment to the Greek government, consisting of four patrol vessels and the modernization of four frigates. (Press release)
• China has sent vaccines to Nicaragua after it severed ties with Taiwan. Nicaragua received 200,000 doses of COVID-19 Sinopharm vaccine on Sunday after severing ties with Taiwan. Beijing will send hundreds of thousands of other Chinese vaccines in the coming days. (AFP)
• South Korea is not boycotting the Beijing Olympics. South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced on Monday during a visit to Australia that his country will not diplomatically boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics in order to continue cooperation with China. The United States, Britain, Canada and Australia have announced that they will diplomatically boycott the Winter Olympics to warn of human rights abuses in China. (AFP)
• Australia buys self-propelled artillery from South Korea for $ 700 million. Australia has signed a contract with South Korea for the purchase of 30 self-propelled artillery systems and 15 ammunition vehicles for $ 700 million. (AP)
• Germany will not certify the Nord Stream 2 pipeline if Russia attacks Ukraine. Annalena Baerbock, the new head of German diplomacy in the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, confirmed on Sunday the validity of Berlin's decision not to authorize the operation of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in case of escalations in Ukraine. (DW)

Romania's defense and security

• The MFA does not recognize the Transnistrian elections. Romania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that it does not recognize the legitimacy of the elections held on December 12, 2021 in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova. The MFA reiterated, on this occasion, that Romania supports a comprehensive, peaceful and lasting settlement of the Transnistrian conflict, in accordance with international law, with respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova, within its internationally recognized borders and without affecting its European future. (Mediafax)