The ICC Hague court issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest for what it determined was the 70-year-old Russian leader’s “individual criminal responsibility” in the unlawful transfer of children from Ukraine to Russia—a war crime.
The far-Right front-runner in Romania’s elections labelled Vladimir Putin a war criminal and dictator on the eve of Sunday’s vote, rejecting concerns that his leadership could align his country with Russia.
George Simion, who swept to victory in the first round of Romania’s presidential election re-run on May 4, is banned from Ukraine and has been accused by his rivals of being friendly with Moscow.
The far-Right front-runner in Romania’s elections George Simion says Vladimir Putin ‘has committed war crimes in Ukraine’ – WIKTOR DABKOWSKI
He strongly denies this.
“Putin has committed war crimes in Ukraine. He broke international treaties, he sent guns and tanks into an independent country,” he said.
With polls placing Mr Simion neck and neck with his rival Nicușor Dan, a pro-EU centrist candidate, leaders in Brussels are bracing for his probable victory this weekend, which would strengthen the nationalist bloc within the European Union.
When The Telegraph spoke to him on Thursday, Mr Simion was spending the day rushing through a flurry of media requests, flanked by his 10-person entourage and a swarm of cameras as he mingled with his Right-wing allies.
“We will never exit the EU. We are here to stay and you cannot get rid of us,” Mr Simion declared, while brandishing his hard-Right credentials and links to Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister.
The 38-year-old gained 41 per cent of votes in the contest’s first round, double the score of Mr Dan.
The election has been described as a fork in the road for Romania, a country that has followed a pro-EU, democratic course since the fall of Nicolae Ceaușescu, the communist dictator, in 1989.
To his critics, Mr Simion, the leader of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) party, is a pro-Russian extremist who threatens Romania’s long-standing links with the EU and Nato.
But despite concerns his tenure would align him with Hungary’s Viktor Orban and Slovakia’s Robert Fico, Mr Simion said he was committed to a strong Nato along the border with Russia.
It has been difficult to fully discern Mr Simion’s true policy positions after he appeared seemingly out of nowhere when Romania’s election was annulled in November.
The move came amid a flurry of accusations of Russian interference and campaign finance violations.
The Telegraph/ Yahoo News