US urges Romania to carry on the anti-graft fight

The U.S. Embassy in Bucharest has urged Romania to push on with efforts to fight corruption and safeguard the rule of law.

The statement came after President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani wrote a letter to Romanian leaders criticizing aspects of the country's anti-corruption fight.

In the statement sent to The Associated Press, the embassy said Tuesday that Romania had "until recently" demonstrated "considerable progress" in combatting corruption and called for those efforts to continue.

The embassy also expressed concern about recent changes to the criminal code which were "likely to impede international law enforcement cooperation and negatively impact the fight against a range of crimes."

Among the contentious proposals is a bill redefining official misconduct, which critics say will make it easier for officials to abuse their positions.