Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said on Saturday he was “deeply disappointed and saddened by the behavior of Vladimir Putin”, to whom he was close, but who took on “a very serious responsibility before the whole world” by attacking Ukraine.
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“I cannot and do not want to hide that I am deeply disappointed by the behavior of Vladimir Putin, who has taken on a very serious responsibility before the whole world,” he asserted during a public meeting in Rome. The right-wing Forza Italia party, which is part of the broad pro-government coalition led by Mario Draghi.
“I knew him for twenty years and he always seemed to me a democrat and a man of peace,” continued the 85-year-old billionaire, who was prime minister three times between 1994 and 2011. Mr. Berlusconi has so far refrained from publicly criticizing Mr. Putin.
When he was in power, Mr. Berlusconi had made personal friendships with the Russian president, going so far as to invite him on vacation to his luxury villa in Sardinia.
He again denounced “in the face of the atrocities of the massacres of civilians in Bucha and in other regions, and real war crimes, Russia cannot deny its responsibilities.”
