Putin And Berlusconi In 240-Year-Old Wine Row

Claims a 240-year-old bottle of wine was uncorked in Crimea for former Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have sparked a probe in Ukraine.

The two old friends visited the Massandra winery last weekend, which has wine and sherry dating back more than two centuries.

Its European wines include some from the personal collection of Tsar and Prince Golitzin, with a drink known as the Massandra Sherry 1775 being one of the oldest wines in the world.

Russian television, which covered the tour, showed Mr Berlusconi looking at the dust-covered bottles.

Later, the billionaire carried a bottle over to the party, which was identified as one of 1891 vintage, and asked in English: "Is it possible to drink?"

The director of the winery, Yanina Pavlenko, replied: "Yes."

It is unclear what happened to that bottle, but Ukrainian prosecutors appear to be focusing on a 1775 bottle that they say was opened for Mr Berlusconi by Ms Pavlenko - and they want to charge her with embezzlement.

When Massandra was owned by the Ukrainians, two presidential decrees were required before any of its wine could be sold.

Prosecutors say that when two were auctioned in London in 2001 - one selling for nearly £32,000 - the proceeds were used to support wine-making in Crimea.

According to Ukrainian law, presenting a bottle to someone as a gift without the presidential go-ahead could be seen as theft.

Nazar Kholodnytsky, first deputy prosecutor for Crimea, told the AP news agency: "This is one of the five bottles that constitute not only Massandra's or Crimea's heritage, but the heritage of all Ukrainian people."

The incident is not Ms Pavlenko's only problem - she is also wanted in Ukraine for treason after voting for the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Ms Pavlenko, who gave the tour last week, confirmed that she showed the wines to Mr Putin and Mr Berlusconi but she would not comment on whether any wine was consumed.