US concerned about Moscow's interference in Romanian elections
Photo: The United States is concerned about Russia's interference in Romania's elections (Getty Images)
The United States has expressed concern over Romania's presidential elections, following the declassification of documents showing that the NATO member state has been subjected to aggressive hybrid Russian attacks in three consecutive elections, Reuters reports.
The pro-Russian ultranationalist Calin Georgescu, who had previously polled only a few percent, won the first round of the November 24 presidential election, a big surprise for the country, which is located on the eastern flank of NATO and the European Union.
Documents declassified by Romania's Supreme Security Council showed that Georgescu actively promoted himself on the social media platform TikTok through coordinated accounts, recommendation algorithms, and paid promotion.
The US State Department said that Washington is concerned about the council's report “of Russian involvement in malign cyber activity designed to influence the integrity of the Romanian electoral process.”
According to the statement, “the hard-won progress of Romania, which has gained a foothold in the transatlantic community, cannot be reversed by foreign actors seeking to distance Romania's foreign policy from its Western alliances.”
“Romania’s hard-earned progress anchoring itself in the transatlantic community cannot be turned back by foreign actors seeking to shift Romania’s foreign policy away from its Western alliances,” the State Department said.
Russian trail
Georgescu, 62, is an extreme right-wing politician who says he will end Romanian assistance to Ukraine in its fight against Russian invasion and considers Russian President Vladimir Putin a true leader and patriot.
Romanians will take part in the second round of the presidential election on December 8, during which Georgescu may win over pro-European centrist Elena Lasconi.
