Former advisor to the Romanian president: Relations between Ukraine and Romania are at their peak
Relations between Ukraine and Romania are at their peak compared to those before 2014. This was facilitated by the assistance provided by Romania to Ukraine after the start of Russian aggression. This opinion was expressed by the president of the Center for Conflict Prevention and Early Intervention, former advisor to the President of Romania on strategic issues, security and foreign policy, Iulian Cifu, in a comment to a LIGA.net correspondent during the 17th annual Kyiv Security Forum.
Answering a journalist's question about the prospects for Ukrainian-Romanian relations, Kifu replied that they are positive.
"I think we have a pretty good relationship at the moment. It started to improve after 2014, but now I think we are at the peak," he said.
As Kifu noted, the warming was primarily contributed to by the aid that Romania provided to Ukrainians.
"Over seven million Ukrainians at least passed through Romania, and over 1 million stayed to work. And they learned how they were received here," he said.
Thanks to this, Kifu noted, "Ukraine rediscovered the Romanians."
"I think even people back home here in Kyiv and in Ukraine have understood that the old, inflexible positions were imposed. Someone was teasing us to keep us apart," he said.
- The first round of presidential elections was held in Romania in November 2024. Georgescu (22.95%) and the pro-European Lasconi (19.17%) advanced to the second round, which was scheduled for December 8 .
- However, in December, Romania's Supreme Council of National Defense declassified secret service documents that, among other things, indicated Russian interference in favor of Georgescu. After that, the results of the first round of elections were annulled and a rerun was scheduled.
- On March 9, 2025, the Romanian Central Election Commission banned Georgescu from running in the presidential re-election. Georgescu and Simion are political allies.
- The vote count in the first round of the presidential election ended on May 5, with Simion and independent candidate Nikushor Dan advancing to the second round. The second round is scheduled for May 18.
