PNL leader: Mircea Geoana needs to tell us if he requested Moscow's support in the electoral campaign

„It is in the press that, using the opportunity of this visit to Moscow, Mr. Geoana would have requested financial and political support from the Russian Federation in the electoral campaign and Mircea Geoana needs to tell us the truth”, the leader of the Romanian National Liberal Party (PNL) Crin Antonescu stated on Thursday. Two days ago, HotNews.ro published an exclusive article, quoting political sources, on the fact that Mircea Geoana undertook a private visit to Moscow on April 27, 2009, where he met secretly with one of president Medvedev’s councillors.

According to the sources, the meeting was set up by Boris Golovin, a businessman with interests in the Romanian energetic domain, about whom the press reads that he would be an ex-GRU officer. Contacted by HotNews.ro, Golovin denied any connection with the PSD leader. Initially, Viorel Hrebenciuc and Cosmin Gusa declared that they did not know anything about Geoana’s visit to Moscow. Several hours later, Cristian Diaconescu, ex-Foreign Affairs minister in Romania, confirmed that Mircea Geoana went on a private visit to Moscow on April 27, but he claimed not to know whom the PSD leader met, what they discussed and how long the visit lasted for.

Crin Antonescu’s most important statements:

• The press reads that, taking the opportunity of this meeting, Mr. Geoana would have requested financial and political support from the Russian Federation or from certain circles close to the Russian Federation.

• The press also reads that discussions could have addressed strategic options for Romania regarding the energetic security policy as well.

• We don’t know at this moment which is the truth, but we believe we have the right to find it out and, bearing in mind that this visit had been initially denied by Mr. Hrebenciuc and by Mr. Cosmin Gusa, only to be later confirmed by Mr. Cristian Diaconescu, who also gave certain details as well regarding the fact that Mr. Geoana did make this visit, in his CSAT vice-president quality and as the Senate’s Speaker, with a portfolio of works which the Foreign Affairs Ministry prepared, according to its obligations, I ask Mr. Mircea Geoana for explanations.

• First and foremost, he should tell us what the meeting was about, which is the truth regarding his possible request for support from Moscow, in electoral campaign, if this is true or not. We need an official answer.

• Mr. Geoana has to tell us why the Senate’s Speaker’s need for an unofficial meeting and why it was kept silent for so long, namely until the press found it out.

• I have criticised president Traian Basescu’s attitude, unsuitable in relation to the Russian Federation and to the normal relationships that should exist between Romania and the Russian Federation. I would have saluted an official visit of Mircea Geoana, in his Senate’s Speaker quality, during day light, with a clear agenda and in conversation with the public opinion regarding the content of these visits.

• What I want to know and what the public opinion is entitled to know from Mr. Geoana is what I have told you: the aim, the content and the result of these visits, to what extent measures addressing Romania’s strategic interests have been engaged by a man running for Romania’s presidency; as for the letter I address to president Traian Basescu, I ask him, in his CSAT quality, to let us know whether he was informed regarding this visit and whether Mr. Geoana, the CSAT vice-president at that point, received or did not receive a mandate from this Council and if Mr. Traian Basescu knew about these things, why he didn’t make them public.