Russian officials question Romanian presidential elections

The Russian ambassador to Romania, Vladimir Lipaev, recently alleged that France had interference in Romania’s presidential elections, echoing far-right defeated presidential candidate George Simion.

Lipaev said on the “Rossia 24” television channel that “there was interference in the elections at the level of Macron. This is indisputable, because literally two days before the elections, Macron was actively communicating with Nicușor Dan and expressed his full support and solidarity,” according to G4Media.

In fact, the Romanian candidate spoke on the phone with the French president shortly before the second round. During the call, Macron praised France and Romania's profound relations and said that “what is at stake in these elections is of course the key to not only Romania’s destiny, but also ours.”

In February, French president Emmanuel Macron said that Russia manipulated elections in Romania and that the cancellation of last year's presidential elections did not shock him as a result of that intervention.

Similarly to Lipaev, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov weighed in on Romania’s presidential race, saying the pro-Russian candidate who won an aborted vote last year had been unfairly disqualified.

"The elections were strange, to say the least," he said, as quoted by Reuters. “We know the story of the candidate who had the best chance of winning. Without bothering to find any justification, he was simply forcibly removed from the race."

Russia has previously denied any role in Calin Georgescu's campaign, and accused Romanian authorities of barring him for political reasons. However, both the Romanian Intelligence Service, as well as intelligence agencies from Italy and France, and the Deputy Secretary General of NATO have officially announced that they have