Moscow has denied accusations that it was involved in the sabotage that caused the fire on September 14 at the industrial platform of the Carfil arms factory in Brasov, Romania. The Russian embassy in Bucharest said that Russia had neither planned, coordinated nor carried out sabotage on Romanian territory.
The reaction followed an announcement by the Romanian intelligence service that a Russian-coordinated sabotage network had been uncovered. According to Romanian services, the network is linked to the fire at the Carfil enterprise, which is part of the Romanian defense industry.
Russian ambassador summoned to Bucharest
The Romanian Foreign Ministry summoned Russian ambassador Vladimir Lipaev and protested against Moscow's alleged involvement. The Romanian side stated that it has evidence gathered as part of the investigation and has defined the actions as inadmissible due to their consequences for national security and the safety of citizens.
However, the Russian embassy denies these allegations. In its position, the diplomatic mission defines the accusations as “a manifestation of political cynicism and hypocrisy“ and also rejects allegations of Russian responsibility for attacks on merchant ships in the Black Sea.
Warnings of possible sabotage
President Nicușor Dan and Prime Minister Luca Niculescu condemned the alleged acts of sabotage on Romanian territory and called for a collective response from NATO and the European Union.
The director of “Carfil“ Mircea Tanțău told Digi24 that the company had received warnings of possible sabotage as early as the spring. He did not provide further details about the nature of the signals.
At this stage, Romanian institutions present the fire as part of a coordinated sabotage activity, while Moscow rejects the accusations and claims that it has not carried out similar actions in Romania or in other countries.
Sources: bta.bg, apnews.com, btvnovinite.bg