Italian Gov't Urged to Apologize for Seizure of Crimean Wine at Int'l Expo

The Italian government should apologize for the incident with seizure of Crimean wine products brought to an international wine expo in Verona, members of the Regional Council of Veneto said Wednesday.

ROME (Sputnik) — On Tuesday, Republic of Crimea Head Sergei Aksyonov said that Italian police seized Crimean wine at the Vinitaly international expo in Verona, calling the actions "scandalous." Ukrainian media reported that Crimean wines were taken away from the Russian stand after the Ukrainian delegation contacted local police.

"We are ashamed of the confiscation of the Crimean wine products at Vinitaly. The government of Italy should apologize," Stefano Valdegamberi and Luciano Sandona said in a statement published on the council's website.

Sandona said that the seizure of the Crimean wine products had "insulted" the Crimean people.

Valdegamberi, on his part, promised to contact Aksyonov on Wednesday and apologize for the incident on behalf of the Italian people.

The two politicians are expected to visit the Yalta Economic Forum (YIEF) on April 20-22 as part of the Italian delegation expected to be the largest at the YIEF, as more than 50 politicians and businessmen expressed desire to attend the forum.

It is planned that the members of the Italian delegation during the YIEF will discuss major investment projects in Crimea and sign several agreements on strengthening cultural ties with the region.

The Crimean peninsula seceded from Ukraine and reunified with Russia after more than 96 percent of local voters supported the move in a referendum in March 2014. Kiev did not recognize the referendum outcome.