EU and NATO pushing Romania toward war with Russia – MEP

The leaders of the EU and NATO are using the recent drone incident in Romania to push the country closer to war with Russia, Diana Sosoaca, a Romanian member of the European Parliament and former senator, has told RT.

Romania blamed Russia after a drone crashed into an apartment block in the city of Galati near the Ukrainian border on Friday, injuring two people.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Romania to share data about the incident for an “objective investigation,” while Russia’s ambassador to Bucharest, Vladimir Lipaev, told RT that there is no proof the drone came from Russia.

“We ask for an international investigation,” Sosoaca, the leader of the opposition SOS Romania party, said. “There are only assumptions” fueled by anti-Russian fearmongering, she added.

Sosoaca went on to say that the EU and NATO are seeking to “push Romania to attack Russia,” while critics of escalation are being labeled as spies for Moscow.

Sosoaca added that the Romanian government will use the incident as a pretext for increased defense spending. She pointed to Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, who vowed on Friday to accelerate efforts to acquire anti-drone equipment through the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) program.

These measures are unpopular with ordinary Romanians, who “don’t want to be at war with Russia,” Sosoaca said.

Putin said during a trip to Kazakhstan on Friday that Russia has no intention of attacking NATO but would “raze to the ground” any country that attacks it. The president also criticized Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys, who recently suggested that the US-led bloc should be prepared to “break into” Kaliningrad Region, a Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea.

Several suspected Ukrainian drones have crashed in the Baltic states in recent months, prompting Moscow to warn NATO members against allowing Ukraine to use their territory to launch strikes against Russia.