PM Citu: USR must understand they will talk to me, future PNL chairman, as of next Monday

Prime Minister Florin Citu says that he will be the chairman of the National Liberal Party (PNL, after the Congress, due 25 September, ed. n.) and the leaders of the Alliance of Save Romania Union - Party of Liberty, Unity and Solidarity (USR PLUS, which stepped down recently from government, ed. n.) must understand that, starting next Monday, they will discuss with him in this capacity and "no one is asking them to join the government".

"From Monday (...) I will be the chairman of the PNL and we will discuss it differently. What the people at USR need to understand: they will talk to me as of Monday and no one is asking them to join the government. I kept seeing during this period how the PNL and the image of the PNL was tarnished with the help of my opponent [current leader Ludovic Orban, ed. n.], who tried to use USR in the fight against me. (...) From Monday, things will be changing. (...) I want this coalition to go on, for me it is the best solution until 2024, but we are not asking anyone," Citu told private broadcaster B1TV on Wednesday night.

He asked the representatives of USR "not to come with AUR [Alliance for the Union of Romanians, ed. n.]", if they want to have discussions with the PNL.

"I have called them repeatedly to discussions, but not to come with AUR, to get rid of AUR and then they can come to discussions. Things will be very simple, they will discuss with the chairman of the National Liberal Party, and I will not allow what happened to the PNL in the last period, as the (current) chairman, along with the USR, the PSD [Social Democratic Party, ed. n.] and AUR, are trying through all kinds of maneuvers to take down the government led by PNL with a Liberal prime minister," added Florin Citu.AGERPRES