Silvio Berlusconi ought to ship any vodka he obtained as a present again to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the top of the Polish European Individuals’s Occasion delegation warned on Wednesday.
“I want to slightly advise to Mr. Berlusconi to ship the vodka again,” mentioned MEP Andrzej Halicki in an interview with Euronews, including that it was “not time for any contact with Putin.”
In a leaked recording, Italy’s former prime minister claimed to rekindle ties with the Russian president, reportedly stating that Putin had despatched Berlusconi 20 bottles of vodka for his birthday. Berlusconi’s crew have denied this.
“Mr. Putin will not be a buddy, however he’s a warfare legal. His place is in The Hague. He ought to be punished by the Worldwide Prison Courtroom. That is the authorized means for Putin, not celebrating the birthdays,” Halicki, who’s from Poland, mentioned.
European Fee spokesperson Nabila Massrali mentioned on Tuesday afternoon that whereas there isn’t any ban on contacts with Russian counterparts, “these contacts ought to after all convey EU positions concerning the illegitimate invasion and aggression in opposition to Ukraine and name on Russian counterparts to cease it instantly and adjust to worldwide legislation.”
Spokeswoman Arianna Podesta additionally mentioned it was determined as a part of EU sanctions to ban Russian imports of laborious alcohols together with vodka. She added that she would test if presents had been a part of the sanctions.
Berlusconi, chief of the Forza Italia celebration, is without doubt one of the junior companions of the right-wing coalition led by Giorgia Meloni that got here first in final month’s Italian elections.
His celebration belongs to the principle centre-right European political group — the European Individuals’s Occasion (EPP) of which Halicki is head of the Polish delegation.
“I am very indignant with not the primary signal which is in opposition to the EPP line and coverage and likewise in opposition to the European Union unity and cohesion coverage on that,” Halicki mentioned.
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