“Caviar diplomacy” scandal explodes in Italy - Rai TV’s sensational report on Azerbaijan

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani caviar diplomacy became a criminally punishable act for the first time.

The Italian Rai TV Channel published a report on Italian MP Luca Volontè’s pro-Azerbaijani activity and bribery, reports “Armenpress”

The report says the Milan Police and Prosecution launched a criminal case against Luca Volontè in February, 2016, who is a former MP of the Christian-Democratic Party and is the former Chairman of the EPP faction at PACE.

Volontè is accused of taking a bribe of 2.4 million Euros from Azerbaijan in 2012-2013. Instead, he was being used by official Baku in the Italian Parliament and the PACE.

Head of the Azerbaijani delegation at PACE Elkhan Suleymanov transferred the money to Volontè, and the coordination works were carried out by the Brussels-based Azerbaijani lobbying organization.

The criminal case launched against Volontè is comprised of two parts: Bribery and money laundering. It is important to state that Volontè keeps silent and refuses to talk with the investigators.

The report prepared by the Italian Rai TV Channel includes a wide geography, being shot in Rome, Milan, Strasbourg, Brussels, Nagorno Karabakh, as well as in Yerevan. The shooting crew was not allowed to enter Baku. The Azerbaijani leadership explained their such decision with a reason that in 1992 editor-in-chief of a shooting program was making a report in Nagorno Karabakh bringing facts about bombarding the civilian targets by Azerbaijan.

Although the shooting crew was unable to enter Baku, they used in the report the interviews with the former Azerbaijani political prisoners, including also the interview with Khadija Ismayilova.

A group of Italian MPs also have speeches in the report with explosive content. Head of Italy-Azerbaijan friendship group was also interviewed. He ends the interview by stating that if journalists are jailed in Italy for several months, the large part of their issues will be considered as solved.

In the report there are also references to the Four-day war in April, 2016. The report says this is the first criminal case in the PACE countries under the topic of caviar diplomacy.

Volontè has not been re-elected in the 2013 October elections, thereafter, the Azerbaijani side has changed its “caviar target”.