British-Romanians flocked to Harrow town centre on Saturday to celebrate Martisor, but the festivities were overshadowed by events across the Atlantic the day before.
Martisor is an annual celebration marking the coming of spring and the event in Harrow consisted of a variety of food and handicraft stalls, live music, and fairground rides.
But the White House press conference the day before, which saw a rise in tensions between Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky and US president Donald Trump, loomed large over the festival.
Horia Bogdan, 29, said: “It’s a bit worrying that we don’t know now which side America is on and we used to know that America was a dependable ally.
“However, this is not something in our control.
“What we should do is make sure that we can adequately defend ourself here in Europe.”
Trump and Zelensky clashed during a heated exchange on Friday, when Trump insisted that Zelensky should be more thankful for US aid and later accused him of gambling with World War Three.
This came a week after the US leader called Zelensky a dictator before seeming to walk back his accusation when he met with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer last Thursday.
News of the press conference was welcomed in Russia, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova remarking that Trump had shown restraint in not physically assaulting Zelensky during his White House visit.
For Romanians living in Harrow this news felt much closer to home and not just because the nation borders Ukraine.
The country’s presidential election, scheduled for 8 December last year, was cancelled at the 11th hour after allegations of meddling by Moscow.
This came after a shocking first-round win by far-right candidate Calin Georgescu, who was detained by police in Bucharest last week and is facing a series of criminal charges including an incitement to actions against the constitutional order.
Along with enjoying the Martisor celebrations, Bogdan was campaigning for Romanian presidential nominee Elena Lasconi in his role as chair of the UK branch of political party USR.
Bogdan said: “We are very worried in Romania about Russian interference.
“Obviously there’s lots of soft interference on social media and there’s lots of Russian money in politics”.
Romania’s election is due to take place again from 4 May to 18 May.
Feature image: Jack Reeves
Join the discussion