Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “Russia tried to sway elections in Romania, Moldova — and failed”
Russia attempted to influence the elections in Romania and the Republic of Moldova, but failed because the citizens of these countries prefer different values and perspectives, said Andrei Țărnea, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Romania, on Friday, October 3.
"We have made it very clear before that we will never accept lessons on democracy, elections or press freedom from Moscow. A country, an aggressor of a sovereign neighbor, which is trying to annex its territories in a brutal war of conquest, which commits war crimes, which sends its citizens to death by the hundreds of thousands, where the opposition is assassinated two steps away from the Kremlin and where there is no independent press or freedom of expression, is not in a position to teach lessons to anyone," the MFA spokesman said regarding the Russian president's Thursday statements, Agerpres reports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated on Thursday at the plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi that authorities in some countries are attempting to ban political opponents who enjoy greater trust among citizens. Still, this approach is not yielding results, TASS reported. The data of sociological studies conducted in European countries show a growing rejection of the excessive ambitions of the political elites in these countries, the Russian president argued.
“The establishment does not want to cede power, openly deceives its own citizens, creates tensions at external borders and resorts to all sorts of tricks inside its own countries, increasingly on the verge of the law or even beyond it. But it will not be possible to endlessly turn the democratic electoral process into a farce and manipulate the will of the people, as was the case, for example, in Romania,” the Russian leader said. He added that such processes are observed in many countries.
As Putin has also argued, the will of their citizens is simple: “For the leaders of the countries to deal with the problems of citizens, to take care of their safety and quality of life, instead of pursuing chimaeras.”
Vladimir Putin, who came to power on December 31, 1999, is in his fifth term as president, after a four-year break as prime minister (2008-2012). The 2024 election, in which he was re-elected for another six years at the helm of the country, was held without opposition and without impartial international observers.
