Ukraine's Foreign Ministry expresses solidarity with Romania after elections annulled due to Russian interference

Ivanna Kostina, Roman Petrenko — Saturday, 7 December 2024, 15:49

Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed solidarity with Romania against the backdrop of Russia's unprecedented hybrid attack against Romanian democracy.

Source: a statement issued by Ukraine's Foreign Ministry

Details: The Foreign Ministry stated that Russia's blatant interference in Romania's internal affairs is an attempt to deprive the Romanian people of their constitutional right to free expression of their will.

"This is yet another episode of Russia's broader hybrid aggression against Europe and the rest of the free world, which has been manifested recently in Russia's active efforts to undermine the situation in Georgia, Moldova and a number of other countries," the statement said.

The Foreign Ministry emphasised that Russia's meddling in Romania's internal affairs reinforces earlier assertions by Ukraine's Foreign Ministry that the Kremlin's aggressive ambitions extend well beyond Ukraine, targeting EU and NATO countries as well.

"The response to such Russian threats must be united and resolute, particularly by providing maximum support to Ukraine in countering Russian aggression in order to maintain stability in Europe and the world," the Foreign Ministry said.

Background:

First, the Romanian Constitutional Court recognised the validity of the first round of the presidential election, where the anti-Western Călin Georgescu shockingly emerged victorious. On Friday, voting in the second round began at polling stations abroad.
However, on 6 December, after an urgent meeting, the Constitutional Court annulled the results of the first round on the grounds that it had received many new requests for such a move and had reviewed information from intelligence agencies.
The requests referred to declassified documents from the Supreme Council of National Defence, which revealed that the campaign of pro-Russian candidate Călin Georgescu was part of a coordinated foreign manipulation effort.

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