The USL leader rules out as well any pardoning during his interim at Cotroceni.
Interim President Crin Antonescu stated on Tuesday evening that he rules out replacing General Prosecutor Codruta Kovesi and making any other changes within institutions such as the National Anticorruption Office (DNA) and the General Prosecutor’s during his interim mandate as president.“I consider the office of interim president to have a legitimacy and political force entirely different than of an elected president. I believe that for us and for the period in which duties of ad interim are exercised it is essential to let the institutions function as they do now and to ensure this stability, even though we can express opinions about the way one or the other works,” the interim president pointed out.In other developments, when asked whether he will pardon Adrian Nastase, Antonescu underlined that he does not plan to pardon anyone while he is interim president. At the same time, the interim president stated that he does not confuse an interim president with an elected one, that he will make sure the Constitution is respected and that he offers assurances, both within and without the country, that the fundamental law is respected and state institutions work well. During the same press conference, Antonescu also pointed out that he met US Ambassador Mark Gitenstein, the latter understanding that no coup is taking place in Romania. Moreover, the interim president also met the heads of the Romanian Intelligence Service (SIE) and the Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE), the talks centering on the relations between these institutions, the heads of the intelligence services offering assurances that they will function normally during this period.In what concerns his meeting with National Bank of Romania (BNR) Governor Mugur Isarescu, Antonescu pointed out that the economic and financial conditions and the link between economic and political events in Romania, as well as the most important financial data, were reviewed. Antonescu denied the information disseminated yesterday by unnamed sources that he would allegedly head a government session. He said he has no intention in taking part in any cabinet sitting, specifying that only in the case where matters linked to his prerogatives would be discussed he might attend a government session.
