Kremlin voices remarks on Romania’s ‘strange’ election
(MENAFN) Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described Romania’s recent presidential election as “strange,” pointing out that the declared winner emerged only after the frontrunner was removed from the race. In the runoff held on Sunday, pro-EU candidate Nicusor Dan narrowly defeated Euroskeptic George Simion to become president.
This election rerun followed the annulment of the November vote by Romania’s Constitutional Court, which had initially seen independent candidate Calin Georgescu—known for his critical stance on the EU and NATO—leading with 23%. Authorities cited campaign irregularities and intelligence reports alleging Russian interference, accusations Moscow denies.
Peskov said the frontrunner was “forcibly” excluded without adequate explanation, making the election outcome unusual. He acknowledged that without Georgescu, the winner was simply who prevailed under those circumstances.
Responding to Telegram founder Pavel Durov’s claim that an EU country pressured him to silence Romanian conservatives before the election, Peskov highlighted a pattern of European interference in other nations’ affairs, naming France, the UK, and Germany as examples.
Durov revealed he rejected a Western European government’s request to block Romanian Telegram channels ahead of the runoff, arguing that election interference cannot be combated by further interference. France was later identified as the alleged source of the request but denied involvement.
After the runoff, Romania’s Foreign Ministry accused Russia of meddling in the election without providing proof. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed the claim and urged Romania to avoid tarnishing other countries with its electoral controversies.
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