Romanian intelligence denies French spy chief's visit before election
Nationalist George Simion lost Romania's May 18 election run-off. (EPA Images pic)
BUCHAREST : Romania's foreign intelligence service on Thursday denied that the French spy chief had visited the country before its presidential election run-off this month, as the Russian head of Telegram has claimed.
Pavel Durov, the Telegram social network's CEO, has said that the head of France's foreign intelligence department, the DGSE, went to Bucharest a few days before the May 18 vote, and indicated that this was to influence the outcome of the run-off vote, ultimately won by centrist Nicusor Dan against a nationalist candidate.
Romania's intelligence service, the SIE, made a rare public statement to deny that DGSE chief Nicolas Lerner had been in Bucharest before the election.
'To ensure that citizens are properly informed', said an SIE statement which named Lerner and mentioned reports of his alleged meetings in Bucharest, 'we clarify that such a visit did not take place'.
Durov, who faces charges in France related to criminal activity on Telegram, has also said in social media messages and by video to a conference in Oslo that Lerner had requested he silence conservative Romanian commentators on the platform.
The DGSE has denied those claims.
The SIE statement said that the department's activities were 'apolitical' and 'clearly and transparently regulated by law'.
The SIE 'will not give in to attempts at manipulation and disinformation in the public sphere, as insinuations of possible political involvement are unsubstantiated and intended to generate distrust of state institutions', it added.
Nationalist George Simion, who lost the election run-off, went to Romania's constitutional court in a bid to get the result cancelled. He said there had been 'interference', including by France. The court rejected his appeal.
The result of a first-round vote in November which another nationalist, Calin Georgescu, led, was cancelled because authorities ruled it had been influenced by Russian interference in the campaign.
Georgescu was banned from taking part in the reorganised election won by Dan.
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