Romania president invites U.S. Vice President Biden: local media

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania's President Traian Basescu on Monday said he had invited U.S. Vice President Joe Biden to visit the Black Sea state, local television station quoted him as saying in an interview with online paper adevarul.ro. Reuters was not able to independently confirm whether Biden would visit Romania, as the U.S. embassy in Bucharest declined to comment when contacted. Romanian news agency Mediafax separately reported that Biden would visit Romania next week, with the crisis in Ukraine on the agenda. Basescu met Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) deputy director Avril Haines earlier in the day in Bucharest "to discuss the situation in the region", Basescu's office said on its website. (Reporting by Radu Marinas; editing by Matthias Williams)