Italy’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who leads the Forza Italia party, a junior partner in Giorgia Meloni’s three-party, center-right coalition, raised eyebrows across the globe when he blamed President Volodymyr Zelensky for the Russo-Ukrainian war.
In his statements, which came on Sunday, February 13th, during comments given to the Italian press, the Forza Italia leader referred to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “inappropriate,” and said, among other things, that the war would not have happened if Zelensky had stopped “attacking the two autonomous republics of Donbas,” Corriere Della Sera reports.
“If I were prime minister, I never would have met Zelensky because we are witnessing the devastation of his country and the slaughter of his soldiers and civilians,” Berlusconi began. “He only needed to stop bombing the autonomous republics of Donbas, and none of this would have happened. I have a very, very negative opinion of the behavior of this gentleman.”
Berlusconi went on to argue that in order to finally bring the war—which is fast approaching its one-year mark—to a conclusion, U.S. President Joe Biden should take Zelensky and say to him:
After the war is over, a Marshall Plan is at your disposal to rebuild Ukraine with six to seven or eight to nine trillion dollars on one condition—that you order a ceasefire tomorrow, also because starting tomorrow we will no longer give you dollars and we will no longer give you weapons.
“Only something like this could convince this gentleman to arrive at a ceasefire,” the Forza Italia leader concluded.
Berlusconi’s comments stand in stark contrast to statements issued by Meloni’s office later that evening, where she reaffirmed the Italian government’s support for Ukraine, writing:
The Italian government’s support for Ukraine is firm and convinced, as clearly stated in the program and as confirmed in all parliamentary votes of the majority supporting the Executive.
Moscow also responded to the former Italian prime minister’s statements. Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Minister said:
It is not for me to judge and give Berlusconi votes, these are things that concern Italians. I just stick to the facts, and the facts say that for eight years, since 2014, Russia insisted that the Minsk agreements for peace in Ukraine be implemented. But this was not what the West had in mind.
Partito Democratico (PD), Italy’s primary left-wing opposition party also chimed in on the matter in an attempt to shine a bright light on the ideological inconsistencies present in the ruling center-right coalition.
“Does Giorgia Meloni agree with the disturbing words uttered by Berlusconi?” asked Senate group leader Simona Malpezzi (PD), adding: “With these government allies, the premier should not complain about how she is treated in the EU.”
It remains uncertain how Berlusconi’s controversial statements will affect the unity of Italy’s governing center-right coalition.
