If President Iohannis was present or not at the dinner offered by President Biden to NATO leaders on the occasion of the summit in Washington, it certainly does not have major diplomatic relevance. In other words, it is unlikely that anyone felt his absence and was offended by the absence of someone rather irrelevant.
But even this irrelevance is relevant for Romania. Just as it is very important for Romania that the president does not find it necessary to clarify the information that appeared in the public space on this subject.
Deputy and former USR minister Claudiu Năsui revealed on a social network that President Iohannis was invited to President Biden's dinner but did not attend:
"The NATO social media pages posted photos from the dinner at the White House where all NATO heads of state were invited. I looked at the photos to find President Iohannis. He is nowhere to be found. All heads of state are present, except Iohannis."
Mr. Năsui claims that President Iohannis tried to send Nicolae Ciucă in his place, but the American side did not accept, as the invitations are only nominal for sitting presidents or prime ministers.
President Iohannis' absence is indeed proven primarily by the fact that he does not appear in absolutely any photo, including group photos, from the dinner. There are also other unofficial confirmations, obtained by spotmedia.ro, that things are this way.
The part about Mr. Ciucă has not been confirmed by anyone yet, not even unofficially. If true, attempting such a thing after 10 years of presidential mandate would mean not understanding anything, absolutely nothing, about diplomatic and protocol rules at the highest level.
Ciucă himself only said that he did not try to enter the White House and does not know if President Iohannis was present at the dinner.
But maybe Mr. Năsui is talking nonsense, maybe the photos with President Iohannis were not published. There is no reason why repeated questions from the press on this topic have remained unanswered.
I even asked the Romanian Ambassador to the US if President Iohannis was at the dinner or not. He replied curtly: "Please address the Presidential Administration on this subject."
Neither the Cotroceni Palace, nor the PNL, nor the Romanian Embassy in the US rushed to deny such fake news. Why would we respond to such calumnies?, arrogantly asked the ambassador's brother, MP Muraru, on Antena 3.
The silence suggests that, at least regarding the absence from the dinner, Mr. Năsui is right.
But ultimately, why would it be relevant if Iohannis went to drink Biden's wine or not?
Because such meetings are not about fun. These kinds of gatherings are exactly where the most serious discussions take place and the most important things are established, especially in such complicated times. Because direct interpersonal relationships work there, for those who have them. Probably not the case for President Iohannis.
Sure, a president can be absent from some meetings when there is something more important to do. Has another official program, has a crisis in the country.
President Iohannis was in Washington, however, and nothing on his agenda suggests any urgency. Most likely, he had a private program, like shopping.
To be in Washington, to be invited to a dinner at the White House with NATO leaders, and choose not to go is absolutely incomprehensible.
And this is not the first time Mr. Iohannis has done such a thing. In October 2018, he was absent from the Council of the European Union meeting dedicated to Brexit and instead posted tourist photos of the presidential couple in Pompeii on Facebook.
Meaning the people pay for his grandiose plane to wander around Washington, and he throws his coat over the NATO and White House hoods, annoyed that he missed out on a position or, simply, eager to take advantage of some tourism paid for by the foolish people.
And he doesn't even see fit to give explanations for his absence. Just as he has not given any explanation for his frequent absences or about the immense expenses for personal luxury and desires. Have you heard him be accountable for the money spent on rented planes? About the effects of costly and lengthy visits to all sorts of exotic destinations?
What he seems not to realize is that this completely inappropriate behavior for a high official is the main argument why he has been excluded from all calculations for any external position.
As the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said, "It is doubtful that Johannis would even meet the requirements of a top European position." And President Iohannis has shown in Washington that he certainly does not.