Prime Minister-designate Siegfried Muresan said on Monday, in response to reports of US involvement in the ousting of the Bolojan government, that Social Democratic Party (PSD_ chairman Sorin Grindeanu must disclose what was discussed at a March meeting with the US ambassador to Greece.

'I don't know whether they conspired, but I too have seen that video of Mr Grindeanu and several of his party colleagues with the ambassador, and I think it would be useful for every one of our listeners to see that video, because that is not how a politician who represents Romania honourably on the international stage behaves. Indeed, it does have something of the air of a conspiracy about it, and it is clear that Mr Grindeanu and his PSD colleagues must tell us what they did, what they discussed and what objectives they pursued at those meetings. And if they come and tell us that they merely had lunch between two private flights, that is an insufficient answer. The matter is extremely serious. My assessment is that international media coverage is only just beginning, because, from what I have seen, there are many international opinion-makers discussing the subject and I fear this is only the beginning. Therefore, we need clarity, particularly from representatives of the Romanian state who were involved in such discussions,' he told Digi FM.

PSD chairman Sorin Grindeanu on Sunday rejected allegations that there had been an agreement between Romanian politicians and the United States to remove Ilie Bolojan as prime minister, arguing that Bolojan had been dismissed because of the way he governed.

'The attempt at manipulation involving a supposed conspiracy with the Americans to remove the incompetent Bolojan belongs in the same category as flat-Earth conspiracy theories. That's the best the right-wing propaganda machine can do! Make people burst out laughing. Things are actually much simpler: Bolojan was brought down neither by the Americans, nor the Russians, nor the Illuminati, nor any other secret order, but by more than 88% of Romanians because he governed very badly and drove Romania into the ground,' Grindeanu wrote on Facebook.

He said he supports the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the United States, which he described as the country's 'most important' NATO ally, as well as Romania's membership of the European Union.

USR MP Alexandru Dimitriu announced that he had filed a criminal complaint alleging treason against Social Democrats Sorin Grindeanu and Bogdan Ivan, as well as AUR leader George Simion.

'I have filed a criminal complaint against Grindeanu, Simion and Ivan for treason. They should be investigated because they negotiated with a foreign power the subjugation and economic undermining of Romania. This cannot simply be left as it is. When the Romanian state is penetrated at the highest level and party leaders sell out Romania's sovereignty and economic security, we really are dealing with an act of treason punishable under criminal law,' he wrote on Facebook on Saturday evening. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Georgiana Tanasescu; EN - writing by: Simona Iacob)