Calin Georgescu, the fringe nationalist politician leading Romania's presidential race, told the BBC he would end all support for Ukraine if elected.
He faces a runoff election on Sunday, where he will compete against Elena Lasconi, a former TV presenter who is campaigning on a staunchly pro-European platform.
Georgescu, whose only election campaign was on social media, said he would make “the Romanian people” his priority.
But he denied his surprise success so far was the result of a Russian-backed influence operation, saying he did not care about the “lies” of his country's intelligence agencies because he was working with God and people.
On Wednesday, in a highly unusual move, Romania's outgoing president released declassified documents detailing what was called a massive and “highly organized” campaign for Georgescu on TikTok, coordinated by a “state actor.”
The documents include an intelligence assessment that Russia has carried out hybrid attacks against Romania, which it considers an “enemy state”.
The Constitutional Court is already inundated with requests to consider the allegations of interference with a view to possibly rigging the elections.
Prosecutors announced today that they are opening a criminal investigation, but there is no timetable for when it might end.
“They're afraid,” Georgescu dismissed evidence that hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent to push content for his campaign, violating both Romanian election law and TikTok's own rules.
He denied being a “Moscow man”, referring derisively to Romania's “non-intelligence services”.
“They cannot accept that the Romanian people have finally said, 'We want our lives back, our country, our dignity,'” he said, portraying himself as a fighter against unyielding authority.
In a sometimes scathing interview in which he praised Donald Trump and Hungarian populist leader Viktor Orbán, Georgescu called Vladimir Putin “a patriot and a leader.”
He then added: “But I'm not a fan.”
But when questioned about Russia's war on Ukraine, he first asked, “Are you sure about that?”, appearing to deny the very existence of the war.
At the time, he said Romania was only interested in pushing for peace along its border, but declined to say it had to be on Kiev's terms.
When asked if he agreed to stand by Ukraine, as the EU puts it, “as long as necessary”, Georgescu said “No”. He said things will change.
“I only agree that I have to take care of my people. I don't want to interfere with my people,” he replied, clarifying that Romania – a member of the EU and NATO – would not provide any more military or political support to its neighbor.
“Zero. Everything stops. I only have to take care of my people. We have a lot of problems ourselves.”
This will be a dramatic change in Bucharest's position, and one that will be music to Russian ears.
The president in Romania 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 a full-scale invasion in 2022.
A Patriot missile defense system was provided, as well as financial support. It has also become a key export route for Ukrainian grain as Russian bombing has paralyzed port operations there.
Under Georgescu's presidency, Romania will join Hungary and Slovakia as Russian sympathizers on NATO's eastern flank.
It would also be a major blow to EU solidarity with Ukraine, just as it faces the prospect of taking on more responsibility for helping Kiev with Donald Trump back in the White House.
Georgescu stressed that he will keep Romania in the EU and NATO, but that from now on everything will be “agreed” and will focus on his country's interests.
He refused to say that Vladimir Putin's Russia was a security threat to the West.
His endorsement of conspiracy theories has also raised concerns, including denial of the Covid pandemic and doubt that anyone ever landed on the moon.
Romania is home to a huge NATO military base near the Black Sea, as well as a US missile defense facility.
Georgescu now describes himself as a university lecturer, but previously worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations.
He clearly has supporters – his Romania-centric message of clean living is popular, especially outside of Bucharest.
But in the capital, many people worry about the direction their country could take.
Protesters will gather in downtown Bucharest tonight to call for Romania to remain closely linked to Europe.
Asked if he understood why they were scared, Georgescu shook his head: “It's just propaganda.”
Leave a Reply