Berlusconi has ‘rekindled’ friendship with Putin and exchanged 'sweet letters' amid Ukraine war
A controversy is brewing in Italy over a leaked recording in which former prime minister and recently-elected Senator Silvio Berlusconi claims to have “rekindled” ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The audio was allegedly taken from a meeting in which Berlusconi was talking to his party’s new parliamentarians.
The controversial ex-premier -- nicknamed ‘il Cavaliere’ (“the Knight”) -- currently leads the Forza Italia party, which is part of the Giorgia Meloni-led right-wing coalition that emerged victorious in the country’s snap general election on 25 September.
“Russian ministers have said on several occasions that we are at war with them because we are providing arms and funding to Ukraine,” Berlusconi reportedly said.
“I can’t personally give my opinion because if it is told to the press it will turn out to be a disaster, but I am very, very, very worried. I rekindled relations with President Putin, a little bit. I knew him as a peaceful and sensible person.”
The audio file further suggests Putin - whose invasion of Ukraine and human rights record has made him a pariah among European leaders - gifted Berlusconi 20 bottles of vodka for his 86th birthday on 29 September along with a “very sweet letter”, to which the latter returned the favour by sending Lambrusco wine.
Berlusconi added that Putin deemed him “the first of his five true friends”.
Berlusconi’s team have denied the allegations. Nevertheless, the two leaders have engaged in a widely-publicised, decades-long friendship, with various exchanges of gifts.
On Putin’s 65th birthday in 2017, the Italian ex-PM sent the Russian President a duvet cover which depicts the two leaders shaking hands.
More recently, Berlusconi gave a televised interview -- days before the
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