President's message at reception organized on Romania's National Day: We must defend historical truth and reclaim our patriotism

Dear Ambassador,

Your Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today we remember the historical moment of December 1, 1918, which gave the Romanian people the chance to live united in peace, freedom, and democracy, fulfilling an ideal that continues to inspire us today.

But these aspirations of the past—peace, freedom, democracy—are now threatened more than ever.

We live under the pressure of Russia's brutal war in Ukraine, whose consequences—as we saw yesterday—reach into our villages and households. In the Republic of Moldova, Romania, and across Europe, we are subjected to hybrid attacks intended to weaken and divide us. In the face of these unprecedented dangers, it is important that we have been able to rely on each other, helping each other as is natural among brothers.

But the danger has not passed and we must continue to defend ourselves together by strengthening resilience—in institutions, in society, in the business environment, as well as through education and communication.

Because, unfortunately, those who want to undermine us from outside find support in internal forces that have distorted the values of patriotism. Patriotism does not mean isolation or exclusion; and sovereignty increases, not decreases, when we stand alongside states and peoples who share the same aspirations: peace and democracy. This was well understood by those who participated in the Great National Assembly over a century ago—who included in their resolution the call for the "peace congress to establish the communion of free nations in such a way that justice and freedom are ensured for all nations, large and small alike, and that war is eliminated as a means to settle international relations." Thus, we must defend historical truth and reclaim our patriotism—and no longer allow Romanian values to be distorted or manipulated by those who, through their actions, destroy precisely what they claim to promote.

At the same time, we can better defend our resilience only by continuing projects that connect the two banks of the Prut: road and rail infrastructure, bridges, energy connections. Projects that would not be possible without the support and generosity of Romania, for which we are grateful—just as we are grateful for all the help we receive from Bucharest, which has always been by our side in the difficult moments we have faced.

Certainly, resilience also means as many companies as possible collaborating, creating jobs, expanding, and developing projects on both banks of the Prut. And in the long term, we will be able to strengthen our common resilience only through the firm anchoring of the Republic of Moldova in the European Union—a path that Romania supports with consistency and determination.

Ladies and gentlemen, In this complicated context, it is our duty to honor through deeds the efforts and sacrifices of those who made the historic decision of 1 December 1918 possible.

To fiercely protect their legacy, so that we, in turn, can leave our children and grandchildren a Romanian space where they can live freely, with dignity, and with respect for national values.

Therefore, I urge you to rise to the level of the generation of the Great Union not only with chosen words at a time of celebration, but with the courage to protect and consolidate what they achieved.