While Simion condemns Russia’s aggression, he is highly critical of Ukraine.
“We have our own problems with Ukrainians because they are behaving like Russians in many ways,” Simion said, claiming that Ukraine is not respecting the rights of the country’s Romanian minority to access schools or churches.
“So, the first thing I must do is solve these problems with the Ukrainian side because we as Romanians contributed a lot in the war effort,” he said.
The position of Romania’s minority in Ukraine has been a long-standing bone of contention between the countries. After pressure from international organizations, Ukraine implemented a law to protect minority rights at the end of 2023, with the European Commission issuing a favorable report on it in 2024.
Simion was banned in 2024 from entering Ukraine for three years for what Kyiv called “systematic anti-Ukrainian activities.”
Simion added that if he wins the top job in the second round on May 18 and makes it to the European Council table in Brussels, he would push other EU leaders to be guided by Trump’s White House on defense policy.
