Russian Ambassador to Romania Valery Kuzmin, in an interview given to the state media from Moscow, praised the Romanian politicians participating in the events organized by the Russian Embassy in Bucharest, noting, in particular, the “AUR exception” in Romanian politics, Radio Romania News reports .

Kuzmin gave an interview to the most famous Russian state news agency TASS. After the authorities in Bucharest announced at the beginning of June that they had decided to limit the Russian diplomatic presence on the territory of our country, the Moscow press also recalled that in February Romania suspended the activities of the Russian Cultural and Scientific Center in Bucharest.

When asked by TASS about the latest reception organized by the Russian embassy in Bucharest on the occasion of Russia Day on June 12, and the guests present, Kuzim replied that “there is a fairly broad pro-Atlantic sentiment in the Romanian political elite.” and pro-European consensus”.

“But if the political leadership takes a clearly unfriendly position towards Russia, then there are other views in society. Romanians who do business, follow politics or are interested in cultural life, much more realistically assess the importance of good neighborly relations with Russia. Unfortunately, this pragmatism is very weakly manifested at the political level,” he said.

“Only individual deputies can raise their voice in the parliament, and when they start talking about national interests, a “nightmare” begins – they are accused of being “Kremlin agents,” complained Valery Kuzmin, noting, however, that “there is an exception here: in the last parliamentary elections, the nationalist Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR)”, which, as he recalls, managed to unexpectedly enter the parliament in the last elections.

“At a time when Romanian political circles were already openly talking about the need to submit to the will of the new neo-colonial hegemon – the USA, this party began to speak loudly about national interests, although in a very special “Romanian-Unionist” way, as they often call it,” he explained. he is TASS.

“In conclusion, I will say that the question of whether realist sentiments in Romanian society can affect interstate relations remains open,” the Russian ambassador to Romania also noted.

Valery Kuzmin called Romania a “Russophobic” country

When asked by TASS journalists about the so-called “Romanian Russophobia” and the fact that “many” in our country “try to present Russia as a historical enemy of Romania”, Kuzmin replied that “Russophobia in Romania really exists and has very specific features.” geopolitical roots”.

“In the 18th and 19th centuries, Russia sought to reach warm seas in order to ensure the unimpeded passage of merchant ships to world markets. Russian interests coincided or were close to Romanian ones, because through the struggle with the Ottoman Empire, Russia opened the way to the future independence of Romania,” he added.

“Count Pavlo Kiselyov, who headed the Danube principalities, in whose honor the boulevard where the embassy of the Russian Federation is located today was named, then carried out reforms that were hardly possible even in Russia, because they went much further than the autocracy allowed. However, after the Crimean War, the Romanian elite made a choice in favor of Napoleon III’s France, which treated Russia as a geopolitical rival,” he continued the history lesson.

Kuzmin then claimed that “the main thing is that Russia never came to Romanian land as a conqueror, never committed war crimes, insane atrocities, similar to those that Romanian troops committed on the territory of the Soviet Union.”

“Remember only the massacre of Jews in Odessa, for which the Antonescu regime is responsible… And yet the good traditions of compassion, friendship, spiritual kinship, based on Orthodoxy, existed and exist,” he urged, adding that these “are now distorted by the last geopolitical stratifications, and, unfortunately, I do not yet see forces in Romania that would dare to raise their voice in favor of restoring the historical truth about our relations.”

Russian ambassador says relations between Bucharest and Moscow are “almost nil”

Answering the questions of Russian journalists about the geopolitical orientation of our country, Kuzmin said that “Romania is oriented towards Washington, emphasizing the strategic partnership with the United States of America and trying to take the position of a reliable representative of the hegemon in the Black Sea region.” in this partnership.”

“The unfriendly, and in recent years, frankly hostile policy of NATO and the USA towards Russia is perceived in Romania completely uncritically, without taking into account how it can affect bilateral relations. The treaty on friendly relations and cooperation between the Russian Federation and Romania from 2003 turned, in fact, into a declaration of good intentions,” the Russian ambassador complained.

“Interstate relations are at a level close to zero. But Russia and Romania cannot change their geographical position and therefore must proceed from certain constant values. Russia believes that mutual relations can be restored on this basis,” he added.

“That’s why we work, and whether there will be light at the end of the tunnel depends not only on us. But I am convinced that just as we cannot change the geography, we cannot change the historical fate of the relationship, and it will be corrected one day. Probably, many will accuse me of excessive optimism, but I still think so,” he concluded.

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