Romanian Foreign Ministry opts for non-involvement in controversy over visit of former PM to Moscow

Romania’s Foreign Ministry stated on Monday that a recent conference that took place in Moscow, with the participation of ministry officials and former PM Adrian Nastase, was not supported financially or organisationally by the governmental institution. The conference sparked controversy in Bucharest, as pictures appeared depicting ex-PM Nastase in the company of prominent Russians close to Kremlin policy making, prior to the presidential poll that saw the re-election of Vladimir Putin.

Adrian Nastase led the Romanian Government in the early nineties. After receiving sentences under corruption charges and serving time in prison, he remained low profile and did not run for office in recent years.

But surprisingly he appeared in pictures shared on Facebook, attending a conference in Moscow, in the presence of a former Romanian cosmonaut, Dumitru Prunariu, Romanian Foreign Ministry officials and Russian officials, including a former Russian Ambassador to Bucharest.

Answering HotNews.ro questions on Monday, the Foreign Ministry stated that the conference on the neighboring relations between the two countries did not have the uspport of the ministry. It said the event was organised by the Aleksandr Gorchakov Foundation and the Titulescu European Foundation and was academically oriented, without the financial or organisational support of the ministry.

The ministry said the representatives of Romania’s Embassy to Moscow attended the event as they have been invited, but they did not hold speeches during the event. Attendees did not and were not authorised to express the official position of the Ministry, it said.