Russia denies interference in Romanian election

Presidential election in Romania

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia said on Friday that any accusations it had interfered in Romania's presidential election were groundless.

"We are not in the habit of interfering in elections in other countries, particularly in Romania, nor do we intend to do so now," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Romania's top court on Thursday ordered a recount of votes in the first round of the election and the country's top security body warned Romania was a key target for hostile actions from Russia after a shock result in the ballot.

The winner was a far-right politician, Calin Georgescu, who has been critical of NATO and said Romania should engage, not challenge, Russia. He is due to face centrist candidate Elena Lasconi in a run-off on Dec. 8.

Peskov told reporters that accusations against Moscow were part of a trend in the West where "if something happens, first of all Russia must be blamed".

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)