Polish MEP to Berlusconi: ‘Send the vodka back’

Silvio Berlusconi ought to ship any vodka he acquired as a present again to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the pinnacle of the Polish European Folks’s Get together delegation warned on Wednesday.

“I wish to relatively advise to Mr. Berlusconi to ship the vodka again,” stated 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 conflict prison. His place is in The Hague. He must be punished by the Worldwide Prison Courtroom. That is the authorized method for Putin, not celebrating the birthdays,” Halicki, who’s from Poland, stated.

European Fee spokesperson Nabila Massrali stated on Tuesday afternoon that whereas there isn’t a ban on contacts with Russian counterparts, “these contacts ought to in fact convey EU positions relating to the illegitimate invasion and aggression towards Ukraine and name on Russian counterparts to cease it instantly and adjust to worldwide regulation.”

Spokeswoman Arianna Podesta additionally stated it was determined as a part of EU sanctions to ban Russian imports of arduous alcohols together with vodka. She added that she would test if items had been a part of the sanctions.

Berlusconi, chief of the Forza Italia social gathering, 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 social gathering belongs to the principle centre-right European political group — the European Folks’s Get together (EPP) of which Halicki is head of the Polish delegation.

“I am very offended with not the primary signal which is towards the EPP line and coverage and likewise towards the European Union unity and cohesion coverage on that,” Halicki stated.