League leader Matteo Salvini on
Monday rejected George Soros's suggestion the anti-migrant and
Euroskeptic party might be funded by Vladimir Putin.
Salvini said on RTL radio he had a high opinion of the
Russian president "free of charge" and dismissed the billionaire
philanthropist and liberal open-society advocate as a
"speculator who 20 years ago caused one of the biggest Italian
economic disasters," when the lira was forced out of the
European exchange rate mechanism (ERM) along with the pound.
"I have already sued people who said Russia was paying me,"
said deputy premier and Interior Minister Salvini, adding that
"I've never had a lira from Russia, or a matrioska, or a fur
hat."
"There is a relationship of esteem with Putin, I believe he
has done a lot for his people and with interventions against
Islamist terrorism like the intervention in Syria: and I say
that gratis, because I think so.
"I think it is better to have a relationship of exchange with
Russia...the Italian economy would only gain from good relations
with Russia. The enemy right now is Islamist terrorism, not
Russia's expansionism".
The far-right populist League has said anti-Russian sanctions
are hurting Italian firms and should be dropped.
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