The Romanian Ambassador to Washington explains why “a bilateral visit was not requested” to the White House, during the visit of Nicușor Dan for the Peace Council
Nicușor Dan at the informal meeting of European Council leaders, at Alden Biesen Castle, Kingdom of Belgium, February 12, 2026. Photo source: Inquam Photos / Octav Ganea
Romania's ambassador to Washington, Andrei Muraru, said on Monday that President Nicușor Dan's trip to the United States “is exclusively dedicated to participating in this inaugural meeting of the Peace Council” on February 19.
In an intervention on Antena 3, the head of the Romanian diplomatic mission in the United States said that Romania's observer status at the Peace Council “practically means participation without full membership”.
“I saw this speculation in the press, it is not a statute that we invented, but it is a statute that the organizers confirmed,” Andrei Muraru said.
He explained that this “observer status, as a rule, involves participation in meetings, proceedings, such as this one, but without the right to vote”, and that, according to the letter, President Trump “can invite participants in the proceedings under the terms and conditions he deems appropriate”.
“This means that the level of access of observers can be variable, so depending on the decisions of President Trump,” the ambassador added.
Nicușor Dan goes to Trump's Peace Council: “Romania will have observer status”
“He will sit at the same table with President Trump and other leaders”
Andrei Muraru said why he considers Nicușor Dan's participation in the event in Washington important.
“I think it is very important for us to be here, because we have access, first of all, to this information from the inside, to the discussions, we can express our position. The President of Romania will intervene, he will sit at the same table with President Trump and other leaders, heads of state and government, members and non-members of this initiative,” said Muraru.
He added that Nicușor Dan will thus “have the opportunity to express his position, to build relationships, to evaluate whether he later moves to this status as a member with full rights”, but “without assuming from the start all the legal or political implications of participation”.
“A bilateral visit was not requested”
Asked if they are trying to get high-level meetings for Nicușor Dan on the sidelines of the council, the ambassador stated: “No, this visit of the president to Washington is dedicated exclusively to participating in this inaugural meeting of the Peace Council, and a bilateral visit was not requested on the sidelines of this meeting.”
“Obviously, we are in discussions with the White House almost weekly about the visit we anticipate of the president, which we want to be a settled one, with many points on the agenda, and not a visit on the sidelines of a meeting, which greatly complicates the calendar and logistically speaking,” continued Muraru.
The Romanian Ambassador to Washington estimated that the “prospects” for a visit of Nicușor Dan to the White House “exist, because every president of Romania has had the opportunity of at least one visit to the White House in the last 30 years and it is in the nature of the Romanian-American relationship that the two heads of state have a working relationship, of trust”.
“That doesn't happen to many countries,” he pointed out.
