The frontrunner in Romania’s controversial presidential elections has threatened to tear up a defence pact with Britain unless Ukraine “learns how to behave”.

Measures in the pact have Romanian troops train Ukrainian soldiers in the UK. However, speaking exclusively to The Telegraph, George Simion said that under his presidency, this would only continue if Kyiv learnt to “respect the rights of Romanian speakers in Ukraine”.

The far-Right presidential frontrunner, who is banned from entering Ukraine, demanded Kyiv show greater respect to the country’s Romanian ethnic minority, including to their schools and churches, while painting himself as a more moderate, Western-friendly candidate on Russia and Nato.

Romania’s presidential elections have gained international attention after a first-round ballot was won by a pro-Putin candidate in November, before being annulled over allegations of Russian interference.

The annulment has drawn interventions from European nations, the White House and the Kremlin as the fate of Romania has become both a litmus test for free speech and a proxy for tensions between the East and West.