Kyiv Says Silvio Berlusconi is ‘Kissing Putin’s Bloody Hand’
ROME—Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi has been accused by Ukraine of “kissing Putin’s bloody hand” after the three-time-prime minister and bunga bunga octogenarian said he would never meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he blames for Russia’s invasion of his country.
Berlusconi, whose record with doing the right thing is shaky at best, made the comments Sunday night at a polling station for regional elections in northern Italy. “All [Zelensky] had to do was to stop attacking the two autonomous republics of the Donbas and this would not have happened,” Berlusconi said—a stance which is in direct conflict with Italy’s coalition government under Giorgia Meloni, of which he is a major stakeholder. “I judge, very, very negatively the behavior of this gentleman.”
Kyiv was quick to respond, with Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko writing on Facebook: “Berlusconi’s senseless accusations against Zelensky are an attempt to kiss Putin’s hands, bloodied up to the elbows. An attempt to demonstrate his loyalty to the Russian dictator.”
Meloni, who had been snubbed at a state dinner with the Ukraine president hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron last week, has been steadfast in her support for Ukraine, despite Berlusconi and her other coalition partner Matteo Salvini’s demonstrable soft spot for Putin. Salvini has been photographed with a Putin T-shirt standing in Red Square, and few will forget Berlusconi’s “Putin’s bed” scandal when an escort taped him directing her to the white ruffle bed he said his friend Vlad had given him.
The comments have opened a widening fissure in Italy about its continuing support for Kyiv. “An invasion of Ukraine brings the war closer to home, not further away,” Meloni told reporters in Brussels last week. “Whoever helps Ukraine works for peace.”
But several figures on the right are calling for a vote on Italy’s continuing military aid, seemingly hoping to harness the anti-Zelensky energy introduced by Berlusconi. And some on the left, including socialist senator Enrico Borghi, say the rift should lead to a confidence vote to test whether Meloni’s four-month-old government is intact. “Berlusconi’s pro-Putin and anti-Zelensky statements are a reason for resounding contradiction within the majority on such a fundamental issue as aid to Ukraine,” Borghi said Monday. “These positions isolate Italy and weaken the Western front.”
Mykhailo Podolyak, a top Zelensky adviser, called Berlusconi a “VIP agitator who acts within the framework of Russian propaganda, trades Italy’s reputation for his friendship with Putin.”
"His words are damaging to Italy,” Podolyak said in an interview with La Repubblica. “Throw off the mask and say publicly that you are in favor of the genocide of the Ukrainian people.”
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