MEP Diana Șoșoacă, leader of the SOS Romania party, gave a speech at the International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg, where she addressed Vladimir Putin directly, in an intervention marked by controversial statements, which made the Russian leader laugh.
“I am from Romania and I think I am the only Romanian here. I would like to tell you that the Romanian people do not hate you. The Romanian people want peace with Russia“, Diana Sosoacă began her speech in front of the Kremlin leader, according to Mediafax.
“We don’t want to give them money and weapons, but, unfortunately, Romania is ruled from Brussels”
The MEP criticized the support given to Ukraine and claimed that Romania’s decisions are influenced externally.
“We don’t want to help Ukraine. We don’t want to give them money and weapons, but, unfortunately, Romania is ruled from Brussels”said the leader of SOS Romania.
A moment that attracted the attention of the participants was the statement according to which Romania “it has no president“, a statement that made Vladimir Putin, who was in the room, laugh.
“We admire the entire Russian people”
Sosoacă presented himself as the leader “the only opposition” from Romania and replayed an episode from 2023 related to the visit of the Ukrainian president to Bucharest.
“Zelenski wanted to speak in the Romanian Parliament. We didn’t let him and we removed him from the Romanian Parliament”said the president of SOS Romania, at which point Putin laughed again.
Diana Sosoacă’s speech included praise for the Russian Federation and its population.
“We are not enemies. You are the largest country in the world. You are one of the largest economies. We admire you for your strength and we admire the entire Russian people”said Diana Sosoacă.
“I hope that, in a short time, we will no longer have Ursula von der Leyen as president of the European Commission”
Diana Sosoacă’s intervention ended with a critical message to the leadership of the European Union: “This is a lesson for the European Union. I hope that, in a short time, we will no longer have Ursula von der Leyen as president of the European Commission”.
“I can’t and, frankly, I don’t want to comment on Romania’s internal affairs”
Vladimir Putin thanked the MEP and avoided commenting on the political situation in Romania.
“Thank you very much. You are welcome. Frankly speaking, I cannot and frankly do not want to comment on the internal affairs of Romania”, said the Russian leader.
The Russian leader sent a message with a religious emphasis:
“Russia is still, for the most part, an Orthodox country. Romania is also Orthodox, so my request is that you send my warmest greetings and best wishes to all Romanian Orthodoxtake”.
The International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg, considered the “Davos of Russia”, was organized against the background of the war in Ukraine and the international isolation of Moscow.
“Dialogue remains the most powerful weapon of diplomacy”Diana Șoșoacă wrote on Facebook, where she also posted a photo from the event, in which she appears alongside Maria Zaharov, the spokeswoman of the Russian MFA.
