The only Russiagate involving
Italy is the one where the far-right League party of Matteo
Salvini is accused of discussing funding from Russia via oil
kickbacks, 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader and Foreign Minister
Luigi Di Maio said Thursday.
"I agree with Premier (Giuseppe) Conte that the only
Russiagate that exists is the one that concerns the League and
Matteo Salvini," he said on the regional election stump in
Umbria.
Conte said Wednesday that Salvini should "clarify" why he was
in Moscow at the same time as former spokesman Gianluca Savoini
when the latter, chair of the Lombardy-Russia association,
allegedly discussed Russian funding via oil kickbacks with three
Russians in a Moscow hotel.
Conte told a press conference that it was "surprising" that
Salvini was allegedly reluctant to clear up the 'Russian
funding' case.
A RAI TV programme, Report, on Monday said Salvini and
Savoini were both involved in building up links with Russia and
a transnational network of nationalist parties.
Anti-migrant Euroskeptic League leader Salvini has described
the allegations that Savoini discussed getting 65 million
dollars in oil kickbacks as "ridiculous".
He has suggested that Savoini was acting alone.
RAI's board on Wednesday
discussed an investigative report broadcast this week on alleged
links between Matteo Salvini's League party and Russian funding,
sources said.
Board members Igor De Biasio and Giampaolo Rossi, who were
nominated by the League and the rightwing Brothers of Italy
(FdI) party respectively, accused the 'Report' show of breaching
electoral rules ahead of this weekend's regional government vote
in Umbria.
This argument was rejected by Rita Borioni, who was nominated
by the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), and Riccardo Laganà,
representing employees, who said the show was simply exercising
freedom to report the news.
PD leader Nicola Zingaretti said no one should censor Report
and that "freedom of expression must be defended in the public
broadcaster".
Former Salvini spokesman Savoini is under investigation for
international corruption in relation to allegations he discussed
taking funding via oil kickbacks from Russia at the Metropol
hotel.
Italian newsweekly L'Espresso and US news site Buzzfeed
reported that Savoini and two other Italians met three Russians
in the Moscow hotel to discuss siphoning off an alleged 65
million dollars from oil profits.
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