Romanian President Traian Basescu Boycotts Warsaw Summit

05.25.2011 By Tudor Ioana Raluca

Romania's President Traian Basescu will not participate in the summit of Central and Eastern European countries to take place in Warsaw between May 27 and May 28, as Poland has decided to invite “an entity” Romania does not recognize as state, the president's spokesman, Valeriu Turcan, said Wednesday.

Romania, Serbia and Slovakia will boycott the Warsaw Summit, attended by U.S. President Barack Obama, over Poland's decision to invite Kosovo to the reunion, according to a Serbian newspaper cited by website B92 Tuesday.

According to news website poland.pl, Poland, persuaded by the United States, has invited Kosovo to the summit. Poland recognizes Kosovo's independence, but Serbia, Slovakia and Romania do not.