Though neither are the darlings of the European political establishment, Russian Premier Vladimir Putin and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi seem to enjoy each other’s company quite a bit.
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The Massandra cellar was at acquired by Russian Federation as with the great percentage of the Crimean cape if Putin mailed a very large number wonderful military infantry to catch the Ukrainian location a years ago.
Exiled Ukrainian prosecutors from Crimea said they are now investigating the alleged incident as a “seizure of government property”.
In the footage, Mr Berlusconi is seen picking up a 1891 vintage and asking “Can we drink them?”The two leaders apparently had such a good time at the winery that Mr Putin even joined in for an uncharacteristically lighthearted photo, raising his hands above his head with Mr Berlusconi and the winery employees”.
The Kremlin strongman and the disgraced billionaire reportedly cracked open a bottle of 1775 Spanish Jerez de la Frontera at the famed Massandra winery during a private visit by Berlusconi this month to the region Moscow annexed from Kiev in 2014. It has rare wine and sherry dating back more than 200 years in its collection; one bottle fetched almost £32,000 in 2001.
“The funds went to the state coffers and supported the development of Massandra and wine-making in Crimea”, he added.
Ms Pavlenko’s predecessor as governor, Nikolay Boyko, was dismissed in February after Russian prosecutors filed fraud charges against him.
While it is unclear how much, if any, of the wine Putin and Berlusconi consumed, Ukrainian prosecutors are furious, and are preparing criminal charges against Pavlenko.
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“Yes” said Massandra’s director Yanina Pavlenko, according to Radio Free Europe.
