Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu claimed on Friday that Romania has “not the slightest reason for concern” in the current international context: “Romania is a country that has joined NATO. We are NATO members.”
Marcel Ciolacu was asked on Friday in Brussels what risks there are for Romania’s security, given that presidential advisor Cristian Diaconescu declared that the Russian Federation had asked NATO to withdraw NATO’s security guarantees on the 1997 alignment. “No risk,” Marcel Ciolacu replied.
Asked if Cristian Diaconescu was wrong, the prime minister replied: “Ask him and ask the presidential institution.” “I am firmly convinced that Mr. Cristian Diaconescu will answer any question you have. (…) From my point of view, Romania does not have the slightest reason to worry. Romania is a country that has joined NATO. We are NATO members,” Marcel Ciolacu also declared.
Asked about US Vice President JD Vance’s criticism of the annulment of the Romanian elections, Marcel Ciolacu claimed that it only represents his point of view.
The Prime Minister also said that the Romanian authorities will take steps through all diplomatic channels so that the US Vice President, J.D. Vance, has the full picture of what happened in Romania during the presidential election.
“It is his point of view, we will try to clarify as much as possible through diplomatic channels, so that the Vice President has the full picture of what happened in Romania”, said Marcel Ciolacu in a press conference at the headquarters of the Permanent Representation of Romania to the EU, at the end of his visit to Brussels.
In this context, he was also asked how he would characterize the relations from this moment with the US: “It is a process of change and approach to foreign policy not only with Romania, of the new Administration of President Trump, but I believe that a normalization will be entered into”.
According to him, Romania and the US share the same common values and he emphasized that foreign policy is, above all, the constitutional attribute of the President of Romania, also asked about the fact that J.D. Vance claimed “the lack of common values”, in the context of criticism regarding the presidential elections in Romania.
“I believe that we have common values. I believe that there is a lack of information. As you well know, constitutionally, foreign policy belongs to the President of Romania. My job as Prime Minister is to organize elections and, as you well know, the elections were organized administratively impeccably both abroad and in Romania. I am not a member of the Constitutional Court. Moreover, I was a candidate and when a difference of two thousand votes, I was in third place, I came before you the next morning, when the vote counting was finished, and I said that I am not contesting and I wish success to the two candidates who entered the second round. This was up to me as a candidate, not from the position of Prime Minister. I will continue to organize the elections just as I did last time,” Ciolacu also declared.
At the same time, the Prime Minister conveyed that he expects the Romanian Foreign Minister to better inform the American side, when asked about J.D. Vance’s statements regarding the cancellation of the presidential elections.
“I also saw it in the statement of Mr. Vice President Vance, in Munich, who referred to the Romanian Government. Truly, the administrative systems of Romania and the United States are different. I do not have these powers, I neither validate nor invalidate the elections. And then it is obvious to the naked eye that there is a lack of communication and information. And that is why we hope, through the embassy, but I do not have too many expectations from Mr. Ambassador, but from Mr. Hurezeanu I have enough expectations to inform better”, emphasized Marcel Ciolacu.
The Romanian PM was also asked if he, personally, had discussions with the Trump Administration after the statements made by people around Donald Trump with reference to Romania: “There were discussions and there will continue to be discussions”, said Ciolacu.