Only Russiagate regards Salvini - Di Maio

(ANSA) - Terni, October 24 - 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.