President Băsescu added that if he had been in Marshal Antonescu's place, he too would have ordered the Romanian troops to cross the Prut River and attack the USSR, with the purpose of regaining Bessarabia, lost in 1940. In response to this, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a press statement asking for the immediate response of "civilized Europe to this justification of Nazi aggression against USSR and dishonor to the memory of millions lost during World War II," and called Băsescu's declarations "shameless bravado". On 23 July he told the public he "deeply regrets" his comments about King Michael calling it a sensitive issue.