"NATO makes no secret of its intentions to turn Romania into an anti-Russian outpost"

NATO may use Romania to intervene more actively in the Ukrainian conflict, its militarization is in full swing. Russian ambassador to Bucharest Vladimir Lipayev told Izvestiya. According to him, the North Atlantic Alliance and the United States are in favor of further increasing the NATO contingent permanently stationed on the territory of this state. Next year, several thousand French servicemen will be transferred to Romania for exercises. It is planned to open a training center for the AFU in the area of the port of Constanta with the participation of Britain. At the same time, a kind of analog of the extremist Ukrainian website "Peacemaker" operates in the country. Under these conditions, it is not worth counting on a change in Romania's course after the presidential election, the diplomat said. However, there is a demand for better relations with Moscow on the part of ordinary citizens. What Romania thinks about the accession of Moldova and how the country copes without Russian gas - in an exclusive interview with Vladimir Lipaev "Izvestia".

"Over the past 80 years, we have reached the lowest level in bilateral ties with Romania"

- With Romania now, as with most EU countries, there are very complicated relations. At what level is there a dialog between Moscow and Bucharest? Is there any contact through specific agencies? And is there any trade between the countries at all?

- Over the last 80 years we have reached the lowest level in our bilateral ties. Political dialog has practically ceased. Contacts are maintained through foreign policy departments at the working level and on technical issues as necessary. This situation was not created on Russia's initiative. But Romania is a member of the European Union and NATO, it follows the foreign policy and ideological guidelines formulated in these structures. The line of behavior dictated by Washington and Brussels leaves little room for pursuing an independent course. They are vigilant to make sure that no one deviates from the general line, any such attempts cause allergies of the Eurobureaucracy. Therefore, in the near, and perhaps even in the medium term, we can hardly expect any significant shifts in the positive direction in our bilateral relations.

As for trade, there are still some minimal ties, although the volume of trade turnover has decreased many times since 2022 due to illegal sanctions and Romania's refusal to buy Russian hydrocarbons, which were a significant part of our trade balance. At the small business level, there is still trade in non-sanctioned goods, but it is insignificant and tends to decrease.

- Earlier, the embassy suspended the work of the Russian Center for Science and Culture, as well as the school at the diplomatic mission due to the reduction in the number of diplomats. Is the issue of resuming the work of the center and the school being discussed?

- Indeed, we were forced to suspend the work of these institutions in the summer of 2023 due to staff reductions initiated by the Romanian authorities. After these events, we managed to preserve the functional core and provide our diplomatic representation at the appropriate level, as well as take the necessary steps to provide quality consular services to Russian citizens and support our compatriots. So far there is no question of resuming the work of the Russian Center of Science and Culture and the school, although there is a request for this from compatriots living in Romania. People are eager to bring up children born, for example, in mixed marriages, in contact with Russian culture. For our part, we are doing everything possible to help them.

Since October 2023, a Russian club has been functioning at the embassy, which to a certain extent has taken over the functions of the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Bucharest. There are Russian language courses, vocal and theater groups, and sports sections. We also familiarize Romanian citizens with the culture of our country by organizing exhibitions and showing Russian films translated into Romanian every week.

With the support of the Museum of Oriental Art, the Tretyakov Gallery, the Dostoevsky Lecture Hall, the Borodino Battle Panorama Museum, the Moscow Theological Academy, Mosfilm, and Gosfilmofond, we organize events that introduce the Romanian public to Russian art and outstanding artists and writers. We see that the number of visitors to these events is constantly growing.

In the current situation, we are ready for any development and will fulfill our professional duty in any conditions for as long as necessary. We will not tolerate arrogance and haughtiness towards ourselves, and we will not allow people to lecture us, although such attempts are being made.

"Wedo not expect serious changes in Romania's foreign policy course"

- Romania is currently holding presidential elections, the first round was recently held, and earlier the topic of Russian interference was actively promoted in the media. Did the Romanian authorities discuss this issue with you or was it more of a pre-election throw-in to mobilize the electorate with the help of an external threat?

- I would like to say right away that Russia does not interfere in the internal affairs of other states, including pre-election processes in them, unlike, say, the United States and its allies, who care about everything. But the participants in the current presidential and parliamentary race, apparently inspired by well-known examples in other countries, periodically tried to brand each other as agents of the Kremlin. It was quite amusing to see how ideological Russophobes were labeled as such here, and they had to justify that this was not the case. The very idea that Russia is interfering in Romania's electoral processes is absurd - and even the official authorities did not take it seriously. There were statements on this topic by Prime Minister Ion-Marchel Ciolacu and the Romanian Information Service, which denied the mythical Russian trail.

But I do not rule out that after the first round this topic will come up again, because the victory of the independent candidate Calin Georgescu came as a surprise. For many people he is a non-systemic candidate, he is not supported by any particular political party. They have already started labeling him as a pro-Russian candidate, but this is a rather fantasy fabrication, he has never been a pro-Russian candidate. Apparently, this theme will be exploited here, but hardly anyone believes in all this seriously.

- And what is the situation in the republic today after the elections?

- For many people the results of the elections came as a surprise. Naturally, we respect the choice of the Romanian people. It is up to them to decide who will be their president and what their domestic and foreign policy will be. But frankly speaking, we do not expect any serious changes in Romania's foreign policy course or any significant changes with regard to Russia. Maybe there will be some nuance, but it is unlikely to lead to significant shifts.

"Today, belonging to NATO does not guarantee security, but on the contrary"

- Romania earlier began building the largest NATO base in Europe. It is assumed that it can accommodate up to 10,000 military personnel and their families. To what extent does this now pose risks for Russia, given the country's geographical location? And can we say that Romania is turning into the main bridgehead of the North Atlantic Alliance?

- NATO is clearly irritated by the current situation on the line of contact in Ukraine, and the bloc is trying to intervene more and more actively in the conflict and increase the degree of its escalation. It cannot be ruled out that the territories of the closest alliance member states to Russia, including Romania, will also be used for this purpose. The danger of such a prospect is confirmed by the ongoing militarization of the country - Romania is modernizing its military infrastructure, purchasing new expensive weapons and military equipment, and expanding the Mihai Cogalniceanu airbase, which is located less than 400 km from Sevastopol. The United States and NATO make no secret of their intentions to turn Romania into an anti-Russian outpost and advocate for a further increase in the alliance's contingent permanently stationed on the country's territory. Since 2016, a U.S. missile defense system has been deployed near the village of Deveselu.

Dozens of military exercises with the participation of alliance member countries take place annually on the territory of the country. Within the framework of maneuvers "Dacian Spring - 25" (Dacian Spring 2025) it is planned to transfer to Romania several thousand French soldiers and dozens of units of military equipment. All these actions pose a threat to our country and cannot go unnoticed. We see that active actions are being taken against the Russian Federation in the military sphere. At the same time, there is no actual threat to Bucharest from Moscow.

And here the question arises: do these preparations increase Romania's security? Of course, it is up to Romanian politicians to decide, but it should be understood that the Anglo-Saxons, i.e. the USA and Great Britain, who have never considered other nations and states as full partners, play the leading role in NATO now. For them, these states are either objects of colonial exploitation, which is the role Ukraine is generally destined to play, or a tool for the realization of their geopolitical and economic ambitions.

Today, belonging to NATO does not guarantee security, but on the contrary, it poses a serious risk due to the aggressive and expansionist nature of the bloc.

- Earlier, Bucharest and Kiev signed a security agreement, and after that Romania approved the transfer of the Patriot surface-to-air missile system to Ukraine. Is it known what more assistance the country has already provided to Kyiv? What can it transfer to the AFU? Is there any information about the participation of Romanian citizens in combat operations on the side of Ukraine?

- In addition to signing an agreement on security cooperation, already since February 2022 Romania has been providing Ukraine with serious logistical support for the transfer of cargoes, including military goods, through its territory. Ukrainian pilots are currently being retrained to fly the F-16 fighter aircraft at Romania's 86th Fetesti airbase. A regional maritime training center for the AFU is planned to be opened near the port of Constanta with the participation of Great Britain. And in November this year, Romania transferred a Patriot surface-to-air missile system to Ukraine. In general, these facts speak for themselves - military-technical cooperation between Ukraine and Romania is in full swing.

Local media and social networks periodically publish information about the participation on the side of the AFU of members of the Romanian nationalist group "Getica", who claimed to have taken part in sabotage operations against the Russian armed forces on the territory of Belgorod region. But whether this is true or they are just claiming it - we do not know and have no concrete facts yet. Nevertheless, on its Internet site this structure calls to join its ranks, makes donations to help the AFU, publishes a list of enemies of Romania, which includes the entire military and political leadership of Russia. This is a kind of analog of the extremist Ukrainian website "Peacemaker". Official Bucharest has not reacted in any way to the demands of the Russian side to draw the attention of law enforcement agencies to the activities of this group.

- Earlier, Romania's energy minister said that Eastern Europe pays much more for energy than Western European states, emphasizing that his country does not import a single molecule of Russian gas. Has Bucharest really completely abandoned its supply from the Russian Federation? How does this reorientation to other suppliers affect the country and its citizens?

- According to Romanian statistics, in 2021 the country purchased 2.8 billion cubic meters of Russian gas, and a year later this volume was reduced to 370 million, that is, eight times. Today, instead of cheap Russian gas under long-term contracts, Romania prefers to buy "alternative gas" at a higher price. Are there no Russian molecules in the fuel that comes to Romania from Turkey, Bulgaria and other countries? This is a question better asked to Romanian technologists. How they determine the chemical composition of this gas, we do not know. But if it pleases them to think that there are no Russian molecules in it and this reassures them, we will not interfere with them.

By the example of other EU countries, we see that the shortage of cheap energy leads to a decline in industrial production and job cuts. This is also characteristic of Romania. Of course, the purchase of more expensive energy carriers, no matter what their origin, cannot but affect the general welfare of citizens. But this is Romania's business; if they want to pay more, let them pay more.

"The externally imposed Russophobia does not have deep roots in Romania."

- Despite all of the above, Romania has never been characterized by ardent Russophobia on the part of ordinary citizens. Does the embassy now record cases of aggressive or discriminatory actions against Russians on the territory of Romania?

- Attempts to inculcate Russophobia in Romania have been made for centuries, the distortion of our joint history has become a dominant trend in local historiography. The role of Russia prefers to be presented exclusively in a negative light at all stages, including not only the Second and First World Wars, but even the anti-Ottoman alliance of Peter the Great and Dmitry Cantemir, the fighting brotherhood of our peoples during the Russo-Turkish war in the XIX century, as a result of which Romania gained its independence. The beneficiaries of these manipulations have always been extra-regional powers, which benefit from the fact that the Black Sea countries are at enmity with each other and that the Black Sea region is a zone of discord.

Being exposed to such psychological aggression, some people really start to believe in the propagated falsehoods about Russia, especially since the truthful information and its objective sources are blocked here. But despite the anti-Russian propaganda, Romanian citizens are still attracted to Russian culture, we can see it: theaters are staging Russian ballets, the audience willingly goes to "Raymonda" and "The Nutcracker" - for the second one, I think, before the New Year all tickets were sold out. Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and other writers are on the bookshelves, and more and more people are coming to movie screenings at our embassy. Recently we showed the movie "Onegin" with translation into Romanian and could not accommodate all comers, and our hall is quite large.

According to surveys that are periodically conducted here, despite the fact that the population is under daily "irradiation" of Russophobic media, more than two-thirds of Romanian citizens are in favor of maintaining, if not friendship, then normal relations with Russia.

Therefore, I tend to agree that Russophobia imposed largely from the outside does not take deep roots in Romania.

"In Romania, many cherish the idea of reunification with Moldova"

- In Romanian political circles, the ideas of unionism are traditionally strong. At the same time, the elections held in Moldova were won by Maia Sandu, who is known to have Romanian citizenship. In your opinion, is the discussion about the unification of Romania and Moldova just a wish of certain persons? Or is the merger of the two states a real goal of Bucharest in general?

- Many people in Romania cherish the idea of reunification with Moldova, considering it historically their territory. But in the ruling circles it is not accepted to talk about it openly. Nevertheless, some political parties openly violate this taboo. It should be said that this finds a certain response from a part of the population.

There is an impression that they are trying to draw Moldova into the European Union, probably believing that after that the issue of merger of the two countries will be solved by itself. Of course, the assumption here is that the merger should take place under the aegis of Romania.

For almost 200 years Moldova was a part of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, these centuries cannot be erased from our history. The national identity of Moldovans, which Romania does not want to notice, cannot be erased. Moldovans exist as an independent people, which has its own state and strives to develop it, and it does not seem that they would like to give up their historically established identity. And an indispensable part of this identity is the connection with Russia and the Russian world. To remove this connection means to abolish the nation as it was formed.