PSD's Dragnea on Patriot missile acquisition bill: It will clear Senate Monday, reach Chamber Tuesday

The Patriot missile acquisition bill clear the Senate on Monday and reach the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday, national leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) Liviu Dragnea said Thursday. 

"I have learned this evening, solving the bug mystery, I have seen that (...) a scenario was presented that I and [Senate Chairman] Mr Tariceanu have blocked the Patriot. Most of the Senators in the Defence Committee at that time attended an event at the invitation of a head of a major institution in Romania. The bill on Monday will be with the, where it will be up for a plenary vote session in the after-noon, while on Tuesday it will arrive at the Chamber of Deputies. There are no problems with that. I will talk tomorrow with them to ask them not to have another such event and go to work," Dragnea said on Thursday at Baile Herculane. 

Asked if the purchase of the Patriot missiles is in jeopardy, the PSD leader replied, "Let's be serious." 

The opposition Save Romania Union (USR) has accused the PSD- Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) ruling coalition of trying to block the bill for the acquisition by Romania of the first Patriot missile system in the absence of its representatives on the Senate Defence Committee and thus "endangering" the strategic partnership with the US. 

Regarding the presence in Bucharest of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Prime Minister Mihai Tudose said on Thursday he knew about it. The US official was welcomed by Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu. "It was the government's envoy to welcome him as a counterpart. Mr Tillerson is the US foreign minister," added Tudose. AGERPRES .