Romania Leader Thanks French for Aid Pledge

BUCHAREST, Romania — Interim President Ion Iliescu on Thursday met with the French foreign minister, the first such Western official to visit Romania since its popular revolution, and thanked France for its offer of aid.

France’s Roland Dumas conveyed a message from President Francois Mitterrand pledging support for the “consolidation of the conquests of the popular revolution and for political stability,” the official Rompres news agency said.

Dumas later told a news conference that projects under discussion include a development bank and health-related programs, but he declined to elaborate.

France and Romania have historically strong ties. Before World War II, many Romanians went to France to study, and French was the main foreign language spoken in the country.