It is no secret that Donald Trump and his team wanted the nationalist candidate to win the Romanian election, just like Moscow.
But Romanians voted overwhelmingly for the unassuming centrist Bucharest mayor and math whizz, Nicusor Dan.
It took the US Embassy in Bucharest two days to even acknowledging Dan’s win, in a less than effusive message that did not even congratulate him.
But Washington seems to have had a change of heart, perhaps given Romania’s strategic position close to Ukraine and the general good manners of the 55-year-old president.
Mr. Trump called his Romanian counterpart this week and during the course of a reportedly 10-minute conversation, he invited Nicușor Dan to the Whote House. Dan naturally reciprocated the invitation to Romania.
Without outright confirming the invite, Dan said he’d visit the US “with great pleasure.”
The phone call signals a normalization of the relations with the Trump administration which soured after Romania canceled it original presidential ballot last year over allegations of Russian interference to favor a pro-Moscow candidate.
It took the US embassy two says to say “the TEump administration looks forward to working with Nicușor Dan, as president of Romania, and with the new Romanian government to advance our shared priorities, such as defense, energy, and trade partnerships.”
President Dan said he “was honored to have a conversation with president Donald Trump and to thank him for the congratulatory message he addressed to me,’ he said In a post on social media.
“ The United States of America is a very close ally of Romania and an essential strategic partner. During our conversation, I reaffirmed my unwavering commitment to deepening the Strategic Partnership between our countries in all areas of common interest. I look forward to close cooperation with president Trump and his administration.”
The main topics of discussion between the two leaders were regional security, energy, and the situation in Ukraine, according to local media reports.
