Romanian President Traian Basescu. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Romanian President Traian Basescu, during his second visit to Israel in less than four years, told Israeli President Shimon Peres on Monday that both Israel and the Palestinians must jump on the chance for peace. Basescu expressed his support for a Palestinian state, but emphasized that any solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must include a secure Israel.

“I see the results of compromise in Europe,” Basescu said, referencing the peace that has existed between Germany and France since the Second World War. “All of us put part of our sovereignty in one basket to develop the European Union,” he said, according to theJerusalem Post.

Yet it is “obvious that the guarantee of Israel’s security is a basic condition to negotiations because without security the peace won’t come,” Basescu said, Israel Hayom reported. He called on both Israelis and Palestinians to take advantage of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s diplomatic initiative to negotiate a peace deal.

Romania facilitated the Israeli peace treaty with Egypt in 1979. Currently, Romania is strategically interested in supporting Israeli citizens who also hold Romanian passports, Basescu said.

“If you win a war, it’s never permanent… Wars have never solved problems. If you win peace, there’s a better chance for permanence. I wish it could be done quicker and better, but we need more time,” Peres said at his meeting with Basescu.