Statements of the Italian politician caused a stormy reaction.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was “pushed” to invade to Ukraine, and he wanted to put “decent people” in charge of Kyiv. This was stated by the former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, causing severe criticism with this statement on the eve of the elections in Italy, writes Reuters.
“The Russians, his party, the ministers pushed Putin to of this special operation,” Berlusconi said on Italian public broadcaster RAI Thursday night, using the official Russian definition of war.
According to Berlusconi, who once referred to Putin as his younger brother, Russia's plan initially was to a week to conquer Kyiv, replace the democratically elected president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, with a “government of decent people” and “leave in a week”.
He expressed sincere misunderstanding that Russian troops were trying to occupy the entire territory of Ukraine, because they were supposed to concentrate only around Kyiv.
As Berlusconi explained, Moscow's decision to invade was made after a call from pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, who allegedly said To Putin: “Please protect us, because if you don't protect us, we don't know where we can end up.”
In the end, after a stormy reaction to his remarks and the condemnation of his opponents, Berlusconi released a statement in which he said that his views were “too simplistic.”
“Aggression against Ukraine is unjustified and unacceptable, the position of the Forza Italia party is clear. We will always be with the EU and NATO,” he said.
Berlusconi's party belongs to the right-wing camp and may win the parliamentary elections on Sunday.
Leader of the center-left Democratic Party Enrico Letta called Berlusconi's comments on the war “scandalous”.
“If the result on Sunday night is favorable for the right, Putin will be the happiest person,” Letta told RAI radio.
Centrist leader Carlo Calenda, whose party is also running, on Radio24 said that Berlusconi spoke “like Putin's general”.
In response to a question about Berlusconi's comments, adviser to the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak said that, in his opinion, the former premier The Italian likes to “take the side of the winners, and it's definitely not Russia or Putin.”
“I believe that the Italian people, and Mr. Berlusconi in particular, are quite pragmatic and understand that, based on the current domestic political situation in Russia and based on the situation at the front, it would be a mistake to support Russia in the medium term,” Podolyak said in a comment to Reuters .
Two sociologists interviewed by the information agency denied the assumption that Berlusconi's statements were due to electoral calculations.
“These opinions are shared by very few voters, people are not too interested in foreign policy,” commented Renato Manheimer, head of the sociological agency Eumetra.
“I think he expressed what believes, but what he didn't want to say out loud,” explained Antonio Noto, head of Noto Sondaggi.
During the premiership of Mario Draghi, who left his post strong>, Italy has been a staunch supporter of Western sanctions against Russia.
Giorgia Maloney of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, who is considered the next prime minister, has promised to remain in this position , but her allies Berlusconi and Matteo Salvini appear to be more ambiguous.
In April, Putin's friend Berlusconi condemned the atrocities in Buch and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in general.
Related video
For more details on what Ukraine should know on the eve of the elections in Italy, where friends of the Kremlin are vying for power, read the article by Natalia Kud ryk “Putin's friends rush to power in Italy: what Ukraine should know“.
