Italian premier denies Russian influence over government

Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte (pictured) faced questions on Wednesday from the country's parliament over allegations that Matteo Salvini's League party, a coalition partner in Conte's government, had sought illicit funds from Russia.

"There are no elements at this stage that could reduce the trust I have in all members of the government," Conte told the upper house Senate.

The scandal over the alleged ties between Russian money and the League began with a series of high-profile media reports.

Meetings investigated

Italian news magazine L'Espresso reported in February that Salvini's former spokesman, Gianluca Savoini, had held talks in Moscow last October with Russian businessmen about a possible oil deal to covertly divert  58 million euros ($65 million) to the League.

This was followed by US website Buzzfeed, which posted an audio recording this month of the Moscow meeting where Savoini can be heard discussing a covert oil transaction. Buzzfeed said it was unclear whether or not the proposed deal was finalized.

Savoini, a former journalist, is married to a Russian and is president of the Lombardy-Russia association. He is considered one of the League's main contacts with Moscow.

Prosecutors are now investigating Savoini's meeting, which prompted the Italian parliament to address the topic during Wednesday's session.

Read more: Italy: 100 days of a populist experiment

Walkout in protest

Salvini has denied any wrongdoing and did not appear before the parliamentary session. In protest at his absence, nearly all the senators from the League's coalition ally, the 5-Star Movement, left their seats before Conte began to speak.

"Why aren't we in the chamber? Because Salvini should be in there," said Stefano Patuanelli, the 5-Star Senate leader. But he stressed that the protest move did not mean the government's future was at risk.

Conte said Savoini had been part of an official interior ministry delegation to Moscow in July and again in October 2018.

But he clarified that Savoini held no official role in the Italian government and that in any case, the League did not dictate the coalition's foreign policy.

The opposition center-left Democratic Party (PD) has said it will call for a parliamentary motion of no-confidence in Salvini and is hoping to persuade some 5-Star dissidents to vote against him in the upper house, where the government only holds a razor-thin majority.

 jcg/se (Reuters, AP, AFP)

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