MOSCOW (Reuters) -The Kremlin on Monday described Romania’s presidential election as “strange”, saying the pro-Russian candidate who won an aborted vote last year had been unfairly disqualified.

Pro-European centrist Nicusor Dan defeated a hard-right, nationalist rival in Sunday’s election – a re-run of the 2024 vote when front-runner Calin Georgescu was disqualified over what Romanian authorities said was an undeclared Russian influence campaign on his behalf.

“The elections were strange, to say the least,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

“We know the story of the candidate who had the best chance of winning. Without bothering to find any justification, he was simply forcibly removed from the race.”

Russia has previously denied any role in Georgescu’s campaign, and accused Roman

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