The suspects include a 101-year-old former military general. They are accused of wanting to overthrow the Romanian government and end its NATO membership

Romanian officials announced the arrest of six alleged coup plotters on Thursday, accused the detainees of working with “agents of a foreign power, located both in Romania and the Russian Federation.”

The group allegedly wanted to to establish a paramilitary militia, overthrow the Romanian government and pull the country out of NATO. Romanian prosecutors also said the suspects intended to introduce a new constitution.

Two of the alleged plotters are said to have travelled to Moscow in January, where they met with backers of the coup. The Romanian intelligence service SRI said the individuals “actively requested the support of officers from the Embassy of the Russian Federation.”

One of the suspects is 101-year-old retired major general Radu Theodoru. The former officer is a Holocaust denier who has praised Romania’s fascist leadership from the World War II, and has described the current government as “a system organized to rob [the] country.”

Rising tensions between Romania and Russia

The arrests follow yesterday’s expulsion of two Russian officials by the Romanian government. The officials were the Russian military attache and his deputy, both accused of colluding with the far-right presidential candidate Călin Georgescu.

Georgescu won the first round of the presidential elections last November, but the results were voided after accusations of interference from Russia. He is currently under investigation for “inciting actions against the constitutional order.” He continues to deny any relationship with Russia.

Edited by: Elizabeth Schumacher, Darko Janjevic

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