Romania is recalling its ambassador to Kenya and has apologized after its envoy in Nairobi compared African diplomats to monkeys at a conference he was chairing.
"The African Group has joined us," Ambassador Dragos Tigau stated after a monkey emerged at a conference room window, according to the letter viewed by CNN seeking an apology.
CNN received confidential documents revealing indignation from African diplomats who threatened to walk out of sessions attended by the envoy.
"The African Group would like to condemn in the strongest terms possible the insulting, racist, and degrading utterances," wrote Chol Ajongo, South Sudan's ambassador to Kenya and the African diplomats' leader in Nairobi.
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According to another document, the deputy Russian ambassador "reprimanded" the Romanian official for his words, for which he apologized "after some hesitation."
Tigau issued two apologies letters to African officials four days apart. Tigau first claimed that his remarks were made during "a long, heated, and highly debated meeting" to "relax the atmosphere." He later removed that portion.
According to a European diplomatic source close to the envoy, the Romanian ambassador "doesn't have any racist inclinations" and intended the remark as a joke.
Romania's foreign ministry stated that it only learned of the incident on June 8, which occurred around the end of April.
The Romanian foreign ministry hoped the unusual incident would not impact its "deep relations" with African countries.
"The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs deeply regrets this situation, expresses its apologies to all those affected, and strongly rejects and condemns all behaviors and attitudes incompatible with mutual respect," said.
