"I cannot and do not want to hide that I am deeply disappointed and saddened by the behavior of Vladimir Putin, who has taken on a very serious responsibility towards the whole world", leading Russia to "unprecedented aggression" against Ukraine.
Thus Silvio Berlusconi, from the stage of the Forza Italia convention in Rome, spoke about the war in Ukraine. A long-awaited intervention, also in light of his friendship with the leader of the Kremlin, to which the blue leader did not, however, discount. “The Bucha massacres were real war crimes, which Russia cannot deny. In fact, he should first put the perpetrators on trial, ”he said.
As for Putin, “I met him twenty years ago - he recalled - he had always seemed to me a man of great common sense, democracy and peace. Too bad for what happened. "
"We must do everything possible so that all this ends as soon as possible, to put an end to the brutality of the war and Italy must work towards this goal, so that a compromise that is acceptable to all is reached. However, this means that freedom and freedom Ukraine's integrity must be guaranteed ", Berlusconi then explained, reiterating that Forza Italia was and will remain a convinced pro-European and Atlanticist party. And again:" We hope that relations between Russia, the United States and Europe will once again be in dialogue. But it is now up to Russia to take a step in the right direction, silencing the weapons. Russia's ceasefire is fundamental and a priority. "
For Berlusconi it was the first public appearance, in the presence, in front of the Azzurri militants, for a very long time. And on the occasion, the Knight did not fail to talk about internal politics and the role of Forza Italia.
"Today's speech - said Berlusconi - is ideally associated with the speech I made 28 years ago to take the field and oppose the rise to power of the communist left".
"Today - he added - is a new descent into the field, but looking to the future, as Forza Italia is important for the future of this country and must return to being a reference point for productive classes, entrepreneurs, professionals and men of culture, to make the existence of the center-right still possible, which would never have existed without us ”.
There was no shortage of jokes ("Enough applause, otherwise it hurts my heart") and his rallying warhorses, or rather the harsh criticism of the "reversals" that have overthrown his governments, the "judicial persecution" and the "grotesque expulsion from the Senate for which I await justice at the Court of Human Rights ". And there was no lack of distinctions with Lega and Fratelli d'Italia, with the claim to be a "center" and to be only "allies" of the right.
The party's numbers, Berlusconi admits, “have weakened today, but - he added - we are not defeated, we are still here more determined and more decisive than ever”.
Also guest of the congress was the general secretary of the EPP, Antonio Lopez-Isturiz, according to whom: “Putin's aggression definitively discredits the Putinian sympathies of many right-wing populists, including some Italians. And it underlines once again the wisdom of those who, like President Berlusconi and Forza Italia, have always firmly placed themselves in the Atlantic field, while pursuing a necessary dialogue with the Russian authorities in the interest of diplomacy and peace ".
(Unioneonline / lf)
