13:43,

YEREVAN, MARCH 12, ARMENPRESS. German lawmaker Mark Hauptmann (CDU) has resigned amid lobbying allegations, Deutsche Welle reports.

Hauptmann's departure follows a report by news magazine Spiegel over Azerbaijani, Taiwanese and Vietnamese tourism ads run in the "Südthüringer Kurier," a CDU-near local newspaper he publishes. He had been accused of accepting money from foreign agencies.

He denies wrongdoing.

Mark Hauptmann is the third German parliamentarian among Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives to exit over lobbying claims.

On March 5, the Bundestag stripped MP Axel Fischer from immunity to pave way for an investigation into alleged bribery from Azeri authorities.