Ukraine war: Silvio Berlusconi "deeply disappointed and sad" about friend Vladimir Putin

Putin and Berlusconi (in Sochi in 2012)

Photo:

Dmitry Astakhov/ dpa

Italy's ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is, in his own words, "deeply disappointed" by Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he had described as a good friend for years.

"I cannot and do not want to hide the fact that I am deeply disappointed and saddened by Vladimir Putin's behavior," said the 85-year-old on Saturday at an event for his Forza Italia party in Rome.

"I've known him for about 20 years and he always struck me as a man with common sense, a man of democracy and peace," Berlusconi said in a speech to MPs about the Kremlin chief.

In the face of "massacres of civilians in Bucha and other Ukrainian locations, which are genuine war crimes, Russia cannot deny its responsibility."

At the beginning of the millennium, when he was head of government, he still hoped that the Russians would turn to Europe, said Berlusconi.

But the aggression in Ukraine is now driving the country straight “into the hands of China.

It's a shame, really.'

Berlusconi, who was Italy's prime minister three times between 1994 and 2011 and whose party is now part of Prime Minister Mario Draghi's governing coalition, has not yet publicly criticized Putin.

As head of government, Berlusconi maintained friendly relations with the Russian president and even invited him to his villa in Sardinia.

wit/dpa/AFP