Sen. Silvio Berlusconi, head of Italian government coalition partner Forza Italia, said that Western nations should stop supplying Ukraine with weapons if they want a peaceful solution to the war. Berlusconi is quoted in journalist Bruno Vespa’s new book hitting bookstores Nov. 4. According to a preview published by Italian media, Berlusconi said he believes that the prospect of getting no military aid, but rather a large reconstruction fund, could convince Kiev to agree to the talks with Moscow.
Berlusconi explained that Zelenskyy would only agree to any sort of a deal with Moscow “if Ukraine realizes at some point that it can no longer count on weapons and aid,” both at the same time. Instead, the West could offer Kiev “hundreds of billions of dollars for reconstruction” as a stimulus to enter the negotiations. Further, Ukraine should recognize Crimea as a Russian territory, and a new referendum that would involve Western observers should be held in Donbass to determine its fate.
Berlusconi also described Russian President Vladimir Putin as “a man of peace.” He admitted that he had tried to reach out to Putin when the conflict between Moscow and Kiev broke out in late February, but wasn’t able to contact him by phone.
RT, in covering the story, quotes some opposition politicians, such as Partito Democratico Deputy Lia Quartapelle and former Minister Carlo Calenda (who created his own party), accusing Berlusconi of spreading pro-Putin propaganda. They pointed out that Berlusconi already faced criticism after he said that he received 20 bottles of vodka from Putin as a birthday gift. According to the German weekly Der Spiegel, the “gift” might have amounted to nothing less than an EU sanctions violation. They even cited an EU Commission secretary, who pointed to the April 2022 ban on goods imports from Russia to the EU, including spirits. However, in his interview with Vespa, Berlusconi commented on this supposed controversy by saying that everyone “understood that he was joking” at that time.
