Volodymyr Zelenskyy came to Bucharest to demand that Romania attack Iran and Russia, according to a false narrative launched by pro-Russian politician Diana Șoșoacă, the leader of SOS Romania. The narrative was questioned even by the Russian propaganda television station Russia Today.
NEWS: [...]I don't know if you know, but tomorrow, the so-called President of Ukraine, Zelenskyy, will be in Romania! And he will have a meeting with our so-called President of Romania, Nicușor Dan. So, I wonder why he chose this moment to come to Romania? Because we have Iran and we have Ukraine. So, if you use the so-called shield, meaning the weapon at Deveselu against Iran, Iran is near Russia, so that it can even target Russia's military bases [...]. In 40 minutes, we will have a session of Parliament and the Romanian Parliament will not vote for Romania to enter this war [...]. Now, we are in the center of the Third World War and we are being used, and Romanians will be used to attack Iran and Russia because that is what Zelenskyy will ask of the so-called President of Romania, Nicușor Dan. I believe only the Romanian people can save the situation if they take to the streets [...]. We are in the same situation as in World War II, when we were on the wrong side of history and had to turn our weapons against our former partners and support the Soviet Union.
NARRATIVE: Volodymyr Zelensky came to Romania to ask Nicușor Dan to attack Iran and Russia.
PURPOSE: To create a public panic. To fuel anti-Ukrainian sentiment already amplified in a large part of society by pro-Russian narratives regarding Romania's aid to Ukraine. To attempt to mobilize the population for street protests. To escalate hate speech into violence. To provoke chaos in an internal context already complicated by government austerity measures and anxiety caused by international conflicts (the war in Iran, the war in Ukraine, etc.).
Russian propaganda, specialized in disinformation and fake news, challenges Diana Șoșoacă's story
WHY THE NARRATIVE IS FALSE: Diana Șoșoacă launched the false narrative on the propaganda television station Russia Today well before the agenda of the meeting and discussions was known, a fact noted, live, even by the host of the program on the pro-Kremlin media outlet, who asked Șoșoacă if she was making these claims because she had inside information regarding the talks:
“So, this is your opinion. I want to say that we do not know what is on the agenda of the meeting with Zelenskyy and your leader in the coming days. Do you have any inside information regarding what might be discussed?”
During the meeting on March 12, Nicușor Dan and Volodymyr Zelensky signed three agreements, and none of them involve any Romanian participation in the war: a bilateral strategic partnership, an agreement regarding cooperation in drone production, which is to take place in Romania, and an agreement regarding collaboration in the energy sector, which provides for the creation of two electricity interconnectors, the first of which is to be completed by the end of the year.
Furthermore, Nicușor Dan secured guarantees from Volodymyr Zelenskyy regarding the rights of the Romanian minority in Ukraine, a sensitive and critical point in relations between the two states often used by Russian rhetoric and pro-Russian propagandists in Romania:
“And, very importantly, we spoke about the Romanian minority in Ukraine and the openness that Ukraine has, and will have, for the Romanian minority. I received guarantees regarding the continued functioning of Romanian-language schools and for all other rights of the Romanian minority in accordance with minority rights established by international Charters [...]. Firstly, the document signed today, as I said, brings the level of protection for minorities to the standards set by international bodies, the Council of Europe. If we talk about education, because that was on the agenda, Ukraine has an education reform project which, broadly speaking, it seeks to merge schools and, from the perspective of this document, it makes an exception for minorities, in the sense that, given we’re taking about fewer units, they can carry out their education in their mother tongue in their settlement. So, this is an example of how these guarantees offered to minorities work. Regarding the Church, the possibility of attending religious services in the mother tongue is reassured. Furthermore, on the church-line subordination of the respective churches where Romanian communities participate in religious services, this cannot be the subject of a document between states, but of a document between churches”, Nicușor Dan said.
In addition, Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced he would sign a decree by means of which August 31 will be celebrated as Romanian Language Day in Ukraine.
The war in Iran brings more money to Russia and endangers arms and ammunition deliveries to Ukraine
Zelenskyy would have no interest in asking Romania to enter the war against Iran because a prolongation of the war with Tehran does nothing but benefit Russia, especially from an economic point of view if the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked. This is because, on one hand, there is a demand on the market that Russia is ready to cover (and the USA has already announced it is turning a blind eye to sanctions) and, on the other hand, the price of oil will continue to rise. Therefore, an extension of the war in Iran means more money for Putin's war machine.
Furthermore, a prolonged war with Iran risks affecting the delivery of ammunition and weaponry to Ukraine, as these become necessary for protecting American facilities in the Middle East, as well as for the regional allies of the USA, Israel and Gulf states. In fact, Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that, in the first three days of the war in the Middle East alone, more Patriot missiles were used than in the entire war in Ukraine. Patriot missile stocks are limited, and production, currently estimated at 600 missiles per year, is far below existing demand.
Last but not least, Romania entering a war against Russia would benefit Ukraine even less, because it would not help Kyiv in any significant way and would not involve any external aid, such as NATO.
Therefore, entering a war with Russia would make both Ukraine and Romania more vulnerable, given the infrastructure and outdated equipment of the Romanian army, the lack of military readiness and training of younger generations, and the simple fact that, in the event of an act of aggression against Romania, our country would urgently need help from the USA, NATO or European allies.
Therefore, how would Romania alone be able to mount an attack on Russia, and why would it do that? Ukraine currently receives support from European states only because it is an attacked state and not an aggressor. Otherwise, it would not have benefited from military, logistical and financial aid.
Furthermore, the narrative is all the more hilarious as Zelenskyy effectively lacks the necessary leverage to demand the Romanian army attack any state, even an aggressor. Last but not least, Zelensky aims for the war to end as quickly as possible, but under fair conditions for Ukraine, not with a peace tantamount to surrender, and in no public statement has he suggested that he wants the war to continue. Romania entering the war would obviously mean an extension and complication of the conflict, not a move toward peace.
Let us also not forget that Romanian diplomacy is so cautious in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine that even now there is no official information regarding the military aid granted by Romania to Ukraine, let alone the possibility of a voluntary military intervention in this conflict.
BACKGROUND: Diana Șoșoacă was invited to the Russian propaganda TV station on March 10, in a tense context for the Kremlin and its mouthpieces in Romania.
On March 10, the presidential administration announced that President Nicușor Dan had convened the Supreme Defense Council (CSAT), which represents an exceptional situation.
It should be noted that, on the same day, G4Media wrote that the USA was considering placing military equipment at the 57th Air Base at Mihail Kogălniceanu.
Also on March 10, the media wrote that Volodymyr Zelenskyy would reportedly come to Romania on March 12.
Then, on March 11, the Defense Council meeting took place, and Parliament voted to approve defensive American military equipment at the 57th Air Base at Mihail Kogălniceanu, on the eve of Zelenskyy's visit to Romania.
Also on March 11, Șoșoacă reiterated the idea that the President of Ukraine is in Romania to take advantage of the context with Iran to ask Nicușor Dan to attack Iran and Russia, and instigated street protests for Romanians to “defend their country”. The post on Facebook quickly went viral, reaching 1.2 million views, over 11,000 shares, 4,000 comments and 14,000 reactions.
The appeals of the pro-Russian MEP remained without results, as not even one public protest was recorded on the day of Zelenskyy's visit.
And, last but not least, the day Șoșoacă aired the false narrative on Russia Today is exactly the day Zelenskyy arrived in Romania.
Following these posts, Șoșoacă did another livestream from Paris, in which she insisted on the idea that Romania is under attack as a result of Zelensky's visit and Parliament's decision to accept American military equipment at the Kogălniceanu Base. This was based on some explosions heard in Vâlcea and Pitești on the night of March 12-13, which actually came from low-altitude and supersonic training flights, which the Romanian Air Forces officially announced were taking place over March 9–16 across the entire country.
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