Romania's surprise front-runner says he's not pro-Russia. But Romania alleges he had Moscow's help

IZVORANI, Romania — The surprise front-runner in Romania's presidential election insisted to The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday that he is not pro-Russian — hours before Romania declassified intelligence alleging Moscow ran an online campaign to promote him to voters.

Far-right populist Calin Georgescu could not immediately be reached about the unprecedented intelligence release ordered by President Klaus Iohannis, which alleges a sprawling network of thousands of social media accounts across platforms like TikTok and Telegram that promoted Georgescu content. The intelligence indicated a modus operandi and resources ''specific to a state actor.''

''Romania is a target for aggressive Russian hybrid actions, including cyber attacks and information leaks … and sabotage,'' a document from the Foreign Intelligence Service says. It was not immediately clear from the intelligence release whether Georgescu was aware of the alleged campaign or assisted in it.

Sitting at his desk in an isolated compound north of Bucharest earlier Wednesday, Georgescu told the AP that ''I am interested in us being a sovereign and self-sufficient power. Freedom and independence come from the ability to finance yourself, not from being financed by others.''

He said Romania's Western alliances remain secure providing they ''serve the sovereignty of the country and nothing else.''

But his success has left Western allies on edge. In the past, Georgescu — who declared zero campaign spending — praised Russian President Vladimir Putin as ''a man who loves his country'' and called Ukraine ''an invented state.'' Still, he claims not to be pro-Russian.

Georgescu unexpectedly topped the polls in the first round of the Romanian presidential vote on Nov. 24 despite being a huge outsider, plunging the European Union and NATO country into unprecedented turmoil. On Sunday, he will face reformist Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union party in a final vote.

Georgescu is also a self-professed Donald Trump supporter and said the incoming U.S. president ''knows what he wants, he loves his people, he put America first, just like I put Romania first ... we have the same ideology.''

Georgescu has courted controversy for describing Romanian fascist and nationalist leaders from the 1930s and 1940s as national heroes. He denies having any connection to extremist organizations and says the quotes were misrepresented.

''I am only for God and my country,'' he said. ''Period.''

Once a member of Romania's far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, Georgescu left the party in 2022 after being accused by colleagues of being Russia-friendly and critical of NATO.

Romania has played a key role in the U.S.-led military alliance since Russia fully invaded neighboring Ukraine nearly three years ago. Observers wonder how a Georgescu presidency could affect NATO unity.

On the war in Ukraine, ''it's a very difficult and grave situation," he said. "And my main position is a strategy of peace. Peace with everyone, regardless of who they are.''

But Lasconi, his opponent in Sunday's runoff, has cast Georgescu as a threat to democracy and national security who is not fit for high office.

''Let us be very clear, Calin Georgescu is an open admirer of Vladimir Putin. He is openly against NATO and the European Union,'' she said a day after the first vote. She added that "without NATO we are at the mercy of Russia.''

Georgescu's past controversial remarks are wide-ranging and include questioning vaccine safety, calling climate change a ''business scam" and saying ''feminism is an absolute mess.''

Georgescu holds a doctorate in pedology, a branch of soil science, and held different positions in Romania's environment ministry in the 1990s — as well as black belts in judo and karate. Between 1999 and 2012, he was a representative for Romania on the national committee of the United Nations Environment Program.

Many observers attributed his success to his TikTok account, which now has 5.8 million likes and 531,000 followers. But some experts suspect Georgescu's online following was artificially inflated while Romania's top security body alleged he was given preferential treatment by TikTok over other candidates.

In Romania's intelligence release hours after Georgescu's AP interview, the secret services alleged that one TikTok user paid more $381,000 (361,000 euros) to other users to promote Georgescu content. Intelligence authorities said information it obtained ''revealed an aggressive promotion campaign'' to increase and accelerate his popularity.

Asked by the AP whether he believes the Chinese-owned TikTok can pose a threat to democracy, Georgescu said: ''The most important existing function for promoting free speech and freedom of expression is social media.''

He added that Romania's political class has ''constantly shown an inferiority complex'' toward the West and vowed to change the dynamic.