Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented in an interview with the French publication “Le Point“ that a Romanian presidential candidate who is ready to hold talks with Russia has been disqualified from the elections, as such a candidate cannot be considered good, BTA reports.
He stressed that the Romanian candidate was disqualified because he expressed a desire for dialogue with Moscow. His statement was published in the Romanian media, which interpreted it as an attack on democracy in Europe.
“The Europeans began to criticize us for everything related to Russia, and claimed that they should teach us democracy. Who exactly gave these lessons? Romania, France, Moldova“, Peskov said in the interview.
Without specifically naming former candidate Calin Georgescu, Peskov commented that he was removed from the election process because he expressed readiness to hold talks with Russia.
“In Romania, when a presidential candidate wins the elections but is ready to talk to Russia, he becomes a bad candidate and is removed. Who condemned Romania for this?“, Peskov asked.
In March of this year, Peskov also expressed dissatisfaction with the decision of the Romanian authorities to prevent Calin Georgescu from participating in the presidential elections, calling this act a delegitimization of the election process.
In response to these comments, the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an official position stating that “an aggressor state cannot give lessons in democracy“.