Romanian presidential candidate George Simion is facing questions about his links to Russian secret services.
Mr. Simion, 38, who heads the nationalist AUR party is projected by some polls to reach the second round of the Nov. 24 and Nov. 8 elections, and uncertainties about his Russia connection potentially put Romania’s alliances with NATO and the EU in a precarious position.
Romania’s president is in charge of foreign policy and Mr. Simion has been declared a persona non grata in Moldova and Ukraine, two Romanian allies. That means he is barred entry from the two neighboring states, rather like the British prime minister being banned from visiting France and Germany.
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, also running for president, has been publicly asked to state the reason for his bans, but has not provided the information.
Moreover, he flatly denied that Mr. Simion was a Russian agent. It was unclear how he was able to be certain about that.
The prime minister’s denial came after the lawmaker in charge of oversight of the Romanian Intelligence Agency, the SRI, claimed Simion had been banned from Moldova and Ukraine due to meetings with Russian spies there. Simion denies he is a Russian agent.
In an apparent inexplicable defense of Mr. Simion, Mr. Ciolacu called for the resignation of the lawmaker, a member of the Liberal Party, from his position after he made the allegations.
Another presidential candidate, Elena Lasconi, called on prosecutors to clarify whether Mr. Ciolacu, Liberal party leader Nicolae Ciucă, President Klaus Iohannis and former NATO deputy chief Mircea Geoana “had or have information that shows how dangerous … Simion is which they did not disclose.”
She also asked Romania’s foreign intelligence branch,the SIE, to clarify whether Simion met with agents of the Russian secret service.
“Today we are witnessing a charade….The desperation is too great. This octopus that for 35 years has been concealing traitors, who prefer to allow traitors to enter the Romanian Parliament and … even the government in order to blackmail them later. ”
“The lack of measures taken by all these leaders, means they are all accomplices, criminal participants in the actions of a possible traitor to the country, a Putin spokesperson in Romania, whom they wanted in the second round of the presidential elections.”
Mr. Ciucă, who is the Senate speaker also asked Mr. Ciolacu to declassify the documents related to Simion’s activities.
Mrs Lasconi demanded that the prime minister moved to declassify the information related to George Simion or to resign.
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