Romania's newly elected president, Nikusor Dan, said last night that it is his duty to respect international treaties signed by the country, while emphasizing Romania's desire to continue the “very good“ relations with Israel, reported the Agerpres agency, quoted by BTA.
Asked if he considers Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu guilty of war crimes, Dan replied:
“That is not my job. My job is to respect the decisions of treaties and courts to which we belong. We also want to maintain the very good relations we have with the Jewish state.“
Nikushor Dan thanked Netanyahu for his congratulations on his victory in Sunday's presidential election. He assured the Israeli prime minister of his commitment to strengthening bilateral relations between Romania and Israel.
“I sincerely appreciate your message and deeply value the historical friendship between Romania and Israel“, Dan wrote on the social network X.
He stressed that he is determined to develop cooperation in areas such as technology, education, culture and the preservation of historical memory:
“I assure you of my commitment to strengthening relations between our peoples, which are united by cultural ties and a strong will for effective cooperation.“
It is recalled that during a pre-election debate on May 8, Dan stated that Prime Minister Netanyahu would not be able to visit Romania while there is an active arrest warrant against him issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“This will never happen as long as this decision is in force – Prime Minister Netanyahu to come to Romania,” he said at the time.
On November 21, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister Yoav Galant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masri for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes related to the Gaza conflict. In February, the court lifted the arrest warrant for al-Masri (also known as Mohamed Deif) after his death was confirmed.
Nicusor Dan, an independent candidate and former mayor of Bucharest, won the presidential election with 53.60% of the vote. His opponent, Gheorghe Simion, leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), received 46.40% of the vote.