George Maior recounted his meeting with Ion Iliescu in 2002, emphasizing his analytical skills in foreign policy.

Former SRI chief George Maior recounted his meeting with Ion Iliescu in the spring of 2002, when they discussed the American request for the Iraq war. Although Iliescu was ill, he was able to expound for an hour his opinion about the strategic mistakes of the United States. Major emphasized that Iliescu was a profound analyst of international politics and a cool practitioner of political realism, always keeping Romania's interests in mind.