Berlusconi’s political career was marked by many controversies over the decades, but perhaps the most recent came last fall, when audio released by Italian news agency LaPresse revealed the 86-year-old speaking about his “re-established” relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin — months after Putin had ordered his troops to invade Ukraine.
Berlusconi said in the audio that Putin had sent him 20 bottles of vodka and a “very sweet letter” on his birthday in September. The former PM’s office confirmed to CNN that the clips were authentic. “I sent him bottles of Lambrusco (Italian sparkling wine) and an equally sweet letter,” Berlusconi said in the LaPresse audio clip.
He also said he had “re-established relations with President Putin” and boasted that the Russian leader called him “the first of his five true friends.”
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.”
Berlusconi then defended his comments in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. “Everything was taken out of context. 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,” he said.
Just a few months after that, Berlusconi was among a small handful of world leaders included on Putin’s Christmas greetings lists, along with the likes of Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko, Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and Hungary’s Viktor Orban.
