Pro-Russian mayor of Chișinău knew of Romania's PM nomination before party leaders, Ciucu reveals

The Singapore encounter

On 14 June 2026, Ciprian Ciucu, first vice-president of the National Liberal Party (PNL) and mayor of Bucharest, was attending the World Cities Summit in Singapore when he learned that President Nicușor Dan had nominated Adrian Veștea as prime minister. The decision bypassed PNL's statutory leadership, including Ilie Bolojan and Dan Motreanu, who were not consulted. Ciucu described the moment as a shock.

A shock. I was in Singapore. I'll give you some news now. I can't prove it, but... believe me, I couldn't invent something like this.

While still processing the news, Ciucu was approached by Ion Ceban, the mayor of Chișinău. Ceban asked how he was doing, and Ciucu mentioned the nomination. Ceban replied, "Oh, you didn't know?" and showed him a message on his phone indicating he had known for several hours. Ciucu later stated that Ceban had learned of the nomination before Bolojan, before him, and before Motreanu.

Ceban's network in Romania

Ion Ceban is a pro-Russian politician who was in Moscow in February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. The US State Department sanctioned him in 2024, and Romania banned him from entering the country in July 2025. Despite this, he cultivated ties with Romanian local officials. In January 2025, he met with Adrian Veștea, then president of the Brașov County Council, to discuss collaboration between Chișinău and Brașov.

Today I had a very good meeting with the President of the Brașov County Council, Adrian Veștea. We discussed the projects that Chișinău is managing to carry out, especially those in collaboration with partners from Romania. I thanked for Romania's support in this rather complicated period for our country. We agreed to have good communication and collaboration in the future with the Brașov County Council.

Sociologist Cristian Preda commented that Ciucu's surprise suggests he was unaware of Ceban's excellent relations within both PSD and PNL. Preda noted that Veștea's rise from mayor of Râșnov to minister under Marcel Ciolacu and then first vice-president under Bolojan was facilitated by others.

I see that mayor Ciucu is surprised that his counterpart from Chișinău, Ion Ceban, found out before him about Adrian Veștea's nomination as prime minister. It means he is not up to date with the excellent relations that Ceban has in PSD. But also in PNL, from the time when Maia Sandu was on the blacklist of Iohannis and the PNL members, who lived a decade of absolute obedience to the former president.

A nomination that failed

President Nicușor Dan signed the decree on 14 June 2026, revoking Eugen Tomac's mandate and designating Veștea. The move was denounced by PNL as an "act of aggression" against a democratic party. Ciucu, stuck in Singapore, posted on Facebook calling it a "plot" and "treason." The government Veștea attempted to form with the Social Democratic Party (PSD) ultimately failed to win a parliamentary vote.

Lingering questions

The episode raises questions about how a foreign mayor banned from Romania obtained sensitive political information ahead of the country's own party leaders. Ciucu's account, while unverified, has drawn attention to the informal channels linking Chișinău's pro-Russian administration with Romanian political circles. The failed nomination left PNL's internal rifts exposed and the prime minister position unresolved.