Mircea Geoana says that, should he run for president, he would do so as an independent

 NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana declared on Friday in Ramnicu Valcea that should he decide to run for president of Romania, he will do so as an independent, although he would not turn down support from certain political formations either."I don't shut out support from certain parties. This is not the idea, but in essence I am absolutely determined that if I run, I will do so as an independent, because I believe that the president of the Romanian nation must represent all Romanians. There should be no political hue, and that fiction in the Romanian Constitution that a president gets installed with the backing of a party and then turns overnight into someone independent and above party interests is effectively a fantasy, not to say a lie. And it seems that it didn't work either... That's why I think there is need for someone to work with the parties, but to represent everyone's interests," Geoana said, adding that he does not look at political sympathies, but has an "across the aisle" approach. "We are all Romanians. We all need to move forward, we all need Romania to be respected, we all need to be better represented abroad. That's why I think we need someone who will be a president by the book, who respects the Constitution and represents all Romanians. And I believe this is a political and historical necessity for Romania," Geoana told a press conference.He added that he will decide wether he will join the race for president of Romania only when his NATO term comes to end."Just a little patience. My term at the top of NATO is drawing to an end. It's been five years since I've been doing this job. It was a very, very busy, very complicated period, with the war in Ukraine, troop withdrawals from Afghanistan, with the pandemic, and a host of other problems on our hands, and I am preparing to leave an important position with my head held up high. I hope that the Romanians were proud that one of their own has made it so high, and I am getting ready for the next chapter in my life. But, as I have said before, I will do my duty there until the last day of my term, and the day after I finish I will return home and I will announce my decision and plans for the next chapter of my life," added the NATO Deputy Secretary General.Mircea Geoana was on Friday in Valcea County on an official visit at the initiative of the Romania Reborn Movement, which announced that it supports his candidacy for president of Romania. On this occasion, Geoana presented his local base his book "The Battle for Romania's Future. Thoughts of a Romanian at the Top of NATO" during a debate at the "Antim Ivireanul" County Library in Ramnicu Valcea.