TIRANA, September 14 – Breaking silence over the news that the Democratic Party (DP) received some $500,000 in 2017 from Russia its former head Lulzim Basha has denied the claims amidst harsh accusations of his adversaries grouped behind the veteran leader, Sali Berisha.
In a Tweet posted after the news broke, Basha said that DP had not received any foreign funding, much less from Russia.
“We are proud of the steadfast partnership with our strategic ally, the US, and determined to move forward alongside our Euro-Atlantic allies for the consolidation of Western values and the full integration of Albania into the EU,” said Basha on Twitter on Wednesday.
Basha also said that when such claims circulated in some media at the time, the DP officially asked the judiciary to investigate those accusations. The justice system of the time rejected any claims of foreign funding, but Basha’s adversaries pretend that the case was closed by PM Edi Rama as part of a deal between him and the former DP head.
In 2018, it was reported by Mother Jones that a Scottish company with links to Russia, Biniatta Trade, paid a US Republican lobbyist to help the DP.
The DP confirmed a contract with former Trump campaign aid, Nick Muzin but said they paid no more than $25,000 for his services.
In the meantime there is not yet any comment on the ongoing revelation by the ruling Socialist Party. /argumentum.al
