President Calin Georgescu promises to end aid to Ukraine

Romania’s leading nationalist politician, Calin Georgescu, has told the BBC that he will end all support for Ukraine if elected.

He faces a run-off on Sunday against Elena Lasconi, a former TV presenter who campaigned strongly for the EU.

Georgescu, whose only election campaign has been on social media, said he would make “the Romanian people” his priority.

But he denied that his astonishing success so far was the result of a Russian-backed influence operation on social media, saying he did not care about the “lies” of his country’s intelligence services, working with God and man.

In a highly unusual move on Wednesday, Romania’s outgoing president released declassified documents detailing a massive and “highly organized” campaign by Georgescu on TikTok, coordinated by a “state actor.”

The documents included an intelligence assessment that Russia was carrying out hybrid attacks against Romania, which it considers an “enemy country”.

The Constitutional Court is now inundated with requests to examine allegations of interference to possibly annul the election.

Prosecutors announced today that they are opening a criminal investigation, but it is not known when it might end.

“They’re afraid,” Giorgiescu said of evidence that hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent promoting campaign content in his favor, in violation of both Romania’s electoral law and TikTok’s own rules.

He denied being a “Moscow man”, mocking Romania’s “non-intelligence agencies”.

“They cannot accept that the Romanian people finally said, ‘We want our lives back, our country, our dignity back,'” he said, portraying himself as fighting against an intransigent establishment.

In a sometimes incredulous interview in which he praised Donald Trump and Hungarian populist leader Viktor Orbán, Georgeski referred to Vladimir Putin as “a patriot and a leader.”

He then added, “But I’m not a fan.”

But when asked about Russia’s war on Ukraine, he first asked, “Are you sure about that?”, seemingly denying the existence of a war.

He then said Romania was only interested in peace on its border, but declined to say it would have to be on Kiev’s terms.

When asked if he agrees to support Ukraine, as the EU says, “as long as necessary”, Djordescu said “no”. He said things would change.

“I only accept that I have to take care of my people. I don’t want to involve my people,” he replied, clarifying that Romania, an EU and NATO member, would no longer provide its neighbor with military or political support.

“Zero. Everything stops. I only have my people to take care of. We have a lot of problems of our own.”

It would be a dramatic change of position for Bucharest, and it would be music to Russian ears.

In Romania, the president has considerable power, including influence in areas such as foreign policy. He is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and appoints the prime minister.

Romania shares a long border with Ukraine and has been a staunch supporter of Kiev since the full-scale invasion in 2022.

It has provided the Patriot missile defense system as well as financial support. It has also become a major Ukrainian grain export route as Russian bombing has crippled port operations.

Under the Žoržki presidency, Romania would join Hungary and Slovakia as Russia’s sympathizers on NATO’s eastern flank.

It would also be a serious obstacle to the EU’s solidarity with Ukraine, just as it has the potential to take more responsibility for helping Kiev with Donald Trump back in the White House.

Djordescu stressed that he will keep Romania in the EU and NATO, but everything will be “negotiated” and will focus on his country’s interests.

He refused to say that Vladimir Putin’s Russia is a threat to Western security.

Romania is home to a giant NATO military base near the Black Sea, as well as a US missile defense facility.

Currently, Djordski describes himself as a university lecturer, but previously worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UN.

He clearly has supporters – his clean-living, Romania-first message is popular, especially outside of Bucharest.

But in the capital, many people are worried about the direction their country could be heading.

Tonight, protesters will gather in central Bucharest to call on Romania to remain closely allied with Europe.

Asked if he understood why they were scared, Djordski shook his head: “It’s just propaganda.”