I sent him bottles of Lambrusco Italy s Berlusconi boasts about friendship with Putin in leaked audio CNN Eastern Europe
' I sent him bottles of Lambrusco' Italy' s Berlusconi boasts about friendship with Putin in leaked audio CNN - Eastern Europe HEAD TOPICS
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' I sent him bottles of Lambrusco' Italy' s Berlusconi boasts about friendship with Putin in leaked audio CNN
10/21/2022 7:01:00 PMFormer Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi sparked controversy this week when audio released by Italian news agency LaPresse revealed the 86-year-old speaking about his re-established relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin
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Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi sparked controversy this week when audio released by Italian news agency LaPresse revealed the 86-year-old speaking about his “re-established” relationship with Russia n President Vladimir Putin Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi sparked controversy this week when audio released by Italian news agency LaPresse revealed the 86-year-old speaking about his 're-established' relationship with Russia n President Vladimir Putin . Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi sparked controversy this week when audio released by Italian news agency LaPresse revealed the 86-year-old speaking about his re-established relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.Boris Johnson, ousted in August, may join the jostle to lead Conservative Party U.The Associated Press By JILL LAWLESS, The Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Several British lawmakers, including former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, were trying to scoop up support on Friday ahead of a short, intense contest to replace Liz Truss as the nation’s leader.Axios on email Yair Lapid and Benjamin Netanyahu. Berlusconi says in the audio that Putin sent him 20 bottles of vodka and a “very sweet letter” on his birthday last month. His office confirmed with CNN on Thursday that the clips were authentic – apparently having been secretly recorded during a meeting of Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party in the parliamentary chamber on Tuesday. Prime Minister Liz Truss announced her resignation in a speech outside Downing Street after less than two months in office. “I sent him bottles of Lambrusco (Italian sparkling wine) and an equally sweet letter,” Berlusconi says in the LaPresse audio clip. Former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and House of Commons leader Penny Mordaunt are among the bookmakers’ favorites – along with Johnson, who was forced to resign by the party just over three months ago after becoming mired in scandals over his ethics and finances. He also says he had “re-established relations with President Putin” and goes on to boast that the Russian leader called him “the first of his five true friends. Photo: Rob Pinney/Getty Images By Max Colchester Updated Oct.” A party spokesperson denied Berlusconi was in touch with Putin, saying the former prime minister had been telling parliamentarians “an old story referring to an episode many years ago. The other side: Yair Lapid, who became caretaker prime minister in July, doesn't actually have to win the election to keep his job — at least for several months. ” However, in the LaPresse audio, Berlusconi can be heard saying Putin “was against any initiative” for war against Ukraine.K. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, file) AP after stepping down as prime minister , has not said whether he will run, but his allies in Parliament are working to gather support. The comments have raised eyebrows among Ukraine watchers as Berlusconi is expected to be part of Italy’s incoming coalition government led by the ultra-conservative Giorgia Meloni – who has been steadfast in her support for Ukraine. Berlusconi is also heard in the audio clip talking to members of his party and appearing to blame Ukraine for Russia’s invasion: “In 2014 in Minsk, Belarus, an agreement was signed between Ukraine and the two newly formed republics of Donbas, a peace agreement that no one attacks each other,” he says. “Ukraine throws this treaty to hell a year later and begins attacking the borders of the two republics. The party’s 172,000 members will then get to decide between the two finalists in an online vote. Both republics suffered losses among the military. ” ‘I don’t deny my past friendship ‘ The Ukrainian government in Kyiv asserts the two breakaway regions are, in effect, temporarily Russian-occupied. The self-declared republics are not recognized by any international government, other than Russia and some of its allies. Sunak, who came second to Truss in a summertime leadership contest, is favored by some as a safe pair of hands who can steady the struggling economy. “Desperate, the two republics… sent a delegation to Moscow… and finally managed to talk to Putin. They say: ‘Vladimir, we don’t know what to do, you (have to) defend us,’” Berlusconi says in the audio. “(Putin) opposes any initiative (to attack Ukraine), he resists. Johnson ally Nadine Dorries said the party should pick him because “he is a known winner” who led the Conservatives to a big election victory in 2019. (After) facing strong pressure from all over Russia, he decided to invent a special operation: the (Russian) troops enter Ukraine, reach Kyiv in a week, overthrow the government in office, (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky, etc., and set up a government already chosen by the Ukrainian minority of good and commonsense people, and a week for the troops to return back to Russia.” In the recording Berlusconi can then be heard saying: “He (Putin) entered Ukraine and found himself faced with an unexpected and unpredictable situation of resistance from the Ukrainians, who began receiving money and weapons from the West on the third day (of the war. “And I think that there would be people, indeed like myself, who would find ourselves in the awful position of having to resign the Conservative whip.) And the war, instead of being a two-week operation, has become a two-century war. So, this is the situation of the war in Ukraine. ” He also doubts “Putin and Zelensky can sit at a mediation table. Truss’ free-market economic package roiled financial markets, drove up the cost of government borrowing and home mortgages and forced emergency Bank of England intervention. Because there is no possible way,” according to the LaPresse audio. Berlusconi defended his comments in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on Thursday. “Everything was taken out of context. Under Britain’s parliamentary system there does not need to be one until 2024, five years after the 2019 contest that was won by the Conservatives under Johnson. It was circulated without knowing the global meaning of my words. With the only scope to spread disinformation and lies,” he said. “I don’t deny my past friendship with Vladimir Putin, that brought important results, which were achieved in full accord with our Western allies… But today the circumstances have changed.” . Read more:CNN International » Rishi Sunak, Former U.K. Treasury Chief, Leads Race to Succeed Liz Truss as Prime Minister Could former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson return after Liz Truss’ resignation? What to watch with less than 2 weeks until Israel's elections Critics Rage as Liz Truss Is Entitled to $130K Annual Allowance After 44 Days in Office