US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, on Thursday voiced concern about Russian interference in Romania’s elections after documents declassified in Bucharest showed the country had been aggressively targeted by cyber attacks.
“Romanian authorities are uncovering a Russian effort- large in scale and well-funded- to influence the recent presidential election,” Blinken said Thursday.
The U.S. State Department also expressed concern about reports of a Russian cyber attack on the election and urged authorities to fully investigate reports of sabotage.
It said that Romania’s commitment to NATO and the EU could not be thwarted by “foreign actors” seeking to switch Romania’s foreign policy away from the West.
It said the data referenced in the report “should be fully investigated to ensure the integrity of Romania’s electoral process.”
In its statement, the U.S. State Department said it valued Romania as a strong NATO Ally and EU partner.
It warned that “Romania’s hard-earned progress anchoring itself in the Transatlantic community cannot be turned back by foreign actors seeking to shift Romania’s foreign policy away from its Western alliances,”Matthew Miller, U.S. Department of State spokesman said in the statement.
“Any such change would have serious negative impacts on U.S. security cooperation with Romania, while a decision to restrict foreign investment would discourage U.S. companies from continuing to invest in Romania.
