russia

Some 90 Russian specialists arrived Thursday on the Otopeni Airport in Bucharest, on board a special flight, their mission being to prepare the highly anticipated visit of Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Bucharest, official sources told MEDIAFAX.

French carmaker Renault (13190.FR) will start manufacturing new versions of the Logan car in Russia as of 2010, which might include the Logan Sedan, Sandero and the SUV its Romanian unit Dacia plans to launch in the second part of 2009.

The Russian Embassy to Bucharest saluted the Romanian Parliament’s decision not to recognize the self-proclaimed independence of Serbia’s breakaway region of Kosovo.

Romania supports the extension of the American missile shield project, but without “hostility” from Russia, which needs to understand that it could team up with the EU and NATO in the set up of such global protection measures, said Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu.

Patriarch Alexius II of Moscow on Monday criticized the decisions of the Romanian Orthodox Church regarding the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia, saying the Romanian church “interfered with an autocephalous orthodox church” and that its actions were “anti-canonical,” the Moldovan presidency said in a statement.

Unidentified people stole on Tuesday evening part of the equipment of Russia’s national rugby team from the Bucharest hotel where the team is accommodated, according to sources in the Romanian Rugby Federation.