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George Simion has emerged as the frontrunner for Romania’s next president, securing 40.5% of the votes in the repeat’s first round held on Sunday.

Just two days after his victory, in a joint interview with Euronews and Euronews Romania, Simion was optimistic about his chances — and very vocal about his policies.

He’s neither a Eurosceptic nor a pro-Russian politician, and he’s tired of the relentless name-calling, especially from abroad, he pointed out.

“I am a Euro-realist,” Simion told Euronews. “We want a Europe of nations, and I am the person who fought the most before entering politics against Russian propaganda.”

Where he differs from the EU is his views on Ukraine, however. Yet he’s not fallen to any kind of anti-Ukrainian sentiment, Simion explained. It’s patriotism and protecting the interests of the Romanian minority living there, plain and simple.

“Our problems with Ukraine is not about hatred, about opposing something. It’s about Ukrainians who must respect international treaties and the rights of national minorities,” Simion said.

“We have half a million Romanian speakers in Ukraine, and they don’t have the right to school and to church.”

And to prove that point, in his mind there is no doubt over who’s to blame for the war in Ukraine, or who can be the peacemaker, he says.

“Our position towards the Russian war is very clear. It’s a Russian war against Ukraine, against all international treaties, and our hopes and prayers go towards a peaceful solution of the Trump administration in this region because escalating the conflict is not the answer,” Simion explained.

Simion still has a standing ban on entry to Ukraine, as well as neighbouring Moldova, however. Yet, he is confident the bans will get lifted once he enters office.

“Probably after I win on 19 May, these false interdictions will disappear because it is in Chisinau and Kyiv’s interest to work with us. I want to work with them on several topics and I want to have good neighbourly relations,”

When asked whether Romania will continue to support Ukraine, defending itself from Russia’s all-out war, now in its fourth year, or if Bucharest will put that on hold, Simion was clear.

“This is not an obligation so far as I know, and I will not help Ukraine until Ukraine manages to respect the right of the Romanians living in the sovereign territory of Ukraine,” he said.

Does that mean Romania would withdraw its support? Simion said yes.

“I said it numerous times. The solution is a ceasefire and peace negotiation, de-escalating the conflict and we must follow the interests of the Romanian nation, not of other nations that are not part of the European Union and of NATO. And NATO is a defensive alliance,” he pointed out.

Yet Romania’s future is closely tied to that of the EU in Simion’s views, while there’s no chance his country would ever leave NATO under his leadership, he emphasised.

“For us, being a member of NATO is vital. We sacrificed a lot for being admitted to NATO. We invested a lot, and our defence spending is quite large.”

“So we want to be, along with Poland and the Baltic states, the eastern flank of NATO, and we want to invest more in our defence spending. We want a NATO led by the United States,” he concluded.