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Silvio Berlusconi a former Italian prime minister defends Putin

Silvio Berlusconi a former Italian prime minister defends Putin

Silvio Berlusconi a former Italian prime minister defends Putin

Silvio Berlusconi a former Italian prime minister

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  • Silvio Berlusconi, a former prime minister of Italy, supported Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine by claiming that Putin was “pushed” into the conflict.
  • The Russian president has a long-standing ally in the three-time Italian prime minister.
  • Berlusconi has long admired Mr. Putin, and in 2012, he went skiing in the Russian city of Sochi with the prime leader.
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Silvio Berlusconi, a former prime minister of Italy, supported Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine by claiming that Putin was “pushed” into the conflict.

According to the 85-year-old, Russian forces were sent in to overthrow the current administration and install “good people” in its place.

The Russian president has a long-standing ally in the three-time Italian prime minister.

In an Italian general election this weekend, his party is anticipated to win the majority as a member of a right-wing coalition.

According to Mr. Berlusconi, the media in Moscow promoted the myth that the Ukrainian government was massacring Russian speakers in the country’s east.

He claimed that Mr. Putin was forced to start a limited invasion as a result of the reporting, which was supported by separatist groups and nationalist politicians in the Russian government.

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“Putin was pushed by the Russian population, by his party, and by his ministers to invent this special operation,” he said.

“The troops were supposed to enter, reach Kyiv in a week, replace the Zelensky government with decent people and a week later come back,” Mr. Berlusconi added.

“Instead they found an unexpected resistance, which was then fed by arms of all kinds from the West.”

Immediately after Mr. Berlusconi’s remarks, opposition leaders denounced them, with Centrist Party leader Carlo Calenda accusing him of acting “like a Putin general.”

And Enrico Letta of the center-left Democratic Party said the intervention proved if Sunday’s election is “favorable to the right, the happiest person would be Putin”.

But on Friday, Mr. Berlusconi attempted to clarify his comments, saying his views had been “oversimplified”

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“The aggression against Ukraine is unjustifiable and unacceptable, [Forza Italia’s] position is clear. We will always be with the EU and Nato,” he said.

Mr. Berlusconi has long admired Mr. Putin, and in 2012, he went skiing in the Russian city of Sochi with the prime leader.

However, he denounced the invasion and expressed his “great disappointment and sadness” over Mr. Putin’s actions in April, saying that the “massacres of people in Bucha and other towns are true war crimes.”

Prior to Sunday’s general election, the leader of the Forza Italia party is now running for office as a member of a right-wing coalition.

His center-right party is the junior member in the coalition, which is led by Matteo Salvini’s populist Lega Nord and Giorgia Meloni’s hard-right Brothers of Italy. According to polls, the alliance will likely secure a majority.

Despite Mr. Salvini’s rejection of Western sanctions against Russia and Mr. Berlusconi’s previous friendship with Mr. Putin, Ms. Meloni, who is anticipated to lead any future government, has vowed to maintain Italy’s support for Ukraine.

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She stated earlier this month that “the war in Ukraine is the tip of the iceberg of a fight aimed at changing the world order.” Therefore, we must engage in this conflict.

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