Speaking to Reuters in an interview ahead of a presidential run-off vote on Sunday, Călin Georgescu also questioned the effectiveness of European Union funding and said Romania would come first should he win.
If Georgescu defeats pro-European centrist Elena Lasconi in the run-off, Romania could become isolated on the West's eastern flank and its key support within NATO for Ukraine against Russia's 2022 invasion could collapse.
Since Russia attacked Ukraine, Romania has helped export millions of tons of Ukrainian grain through its Black Sea port of Constanta, trained Ukrainian fighter pilots and donated a Patriot air defense battery to Kyiv.
All of that will stop should he win, Georgescu said.
“How could I agree to that? It is impossible. Romania and the Romanian people come first,” he added.
“It is unimaginable that there be a war next to us in the middle of Europe, so a priority will definitely be that this war in Ukraine must immediately be stopped.”
Asked if he backed NATO's target of each member state spending 2% of GDP on defense annually, a stance held by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, whom Georgescu admires, he said: "This is ultra-secondary, I am not even interested.”
“The concern of the Romanian people is to be happy. [They] cannot be happy spending money on other things. If NATO is defensive, then it should remain defensive. I believe one thing. Romania has an obligation to no one.”
Romania is home to a U.S. Aegis Ashore missile defense system in Deveselu in the south of the country, which protects NATO’s eastern flank. Asked about the continued presence of the installation on Romanian soil, Georgescu said that it would need to be “evaluated”.
Georgescu was previously critical of the Deveselu installation, calling it a “national shame” and saying that Romania should draw from “Russian wisdom” in shaping foreign policy.
