Sergey Lavrov claims Călin Georgescu was ‘taken out of the race’ in Romania

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has commented on the 2024 Romanian presidential elections, claiming that candidate Călin Georgescu was ‘simply taken out of the race’. Lavrov stated that the first round of voting was ‘absolutely clean’ and that no observers noted irregularities, but suggested that Georgescu was removed because he advocated for Romanian national interests rather than following orders from Brussels.

Georgescu had won the first round of the November 2024 elections before the Constitutional Court of Romania subsequently annulled the results, leading to new elections in 2025.

During the same interview, Lavrov accused the European Union of preparing special observers to ‘secretly monitor’ upcoming parliamentary elections in Russia. He drew parallels between these alleged actions and the 2004 political events in Ukraine, suggesting Western interference in sovereign electoral processes.