Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said on Saturday that he was "deeply disappointed and saddened" by the behaviour of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
After weeks of silence and months of absence due to his health condition, Berlusconi condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine during his speech at a convention of his Forza Italia party in Rome,
"I cannot and do not want to hide that I am deeply disappointed and saddened by the behaviour of Vladimir Putin, who has taken on a very serious responsibility towards the whole world for the unprecedented aggression against Ukraine," Berlusconi said.
The “massacres of civilians in Bucha and other localities are real war crimes,” he said, adding that “Russia cannot deny its responsibility.”
The Forza Italia leader, whose conservative party is part of a broad coalition backing the government led by Mario Draghi, had refrained until now from publicly criticising Putin.
Related News
- ‘Hitler destroyed my childhood, Putin my old age’: Elderly women in Ukraine
- At least 50 killed in Kramatorsk train station attack, of which 5 children
While in power, he had been a close friend of the Russian president, even inviting him for holidays in his luxurious villa in Sardinia.
"I got to know him 20 years ago and he had always seemed, to me, a man of democracy and peace... what a pity," said the 85-year-old billionaire, who was Italy’s head of government for three terms between 1994 and 2011.
