The former chairman of the Democratic Party has reacted after the news published in the media that a senior American official has confirmed that Russia has spent about 500 thousand dollars to support the Democratic Party in the parliamentary elections of 2017.
Through a reaction on Twitter, Basha denies that he received foreign funding, especially from Moscow. He further adds that the PD cooperated with the judiciary, which has rejected any claims of foreign funding.
"The Democratic Party has never received any foreign funding, much less from a Russian source. When such allegations were circulated in some media, the Democratic Party formally asked the judiciary to investigate these allegations and fully cooperated with the judiciary, which rejected all allegations for foreign funding. We are proud of the steadfast partnership with our strategic ally, the USA, 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." writes Basha.
Russia has secretly transferred over $300 million to foreign political parties, leaders and politicians in over 24 countries around the world since 2014.
The news was announced by US administration sources, who refer to an intelligence services report, now declassified.
According to this source, Russia had spent around $500,000 to support the Democratic Party of Albania in the 2017 elections and also financed parties or candidates in Bosnia, Montenegro and Madagascar.