Russian President Vladimir Putin, during his year-end press conference, mentioned his late friend Silvio Berlusconi among the past leaders he said he would have a cup of tea with if given the chance. Along with the "Cavalier," he also picked former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and former French President Jacques Chirac.
"Despite what is happening now, we perceive in Italian society a certain sympathy for Russia, just as we have for Italy," the Kremlin leader declared during a marathon press conference at the end of the year.
And a reference to Silvio Berlusconi and their relationship, not only political but also personal, could not be missing.
Asked which of the dead politicians he would sit down for tea with, the president mentioned Berlusconi, along with the late German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and former French President Jacques Chirac.
Referring to him as "The Cavalier", he said that Berlusconi is among the "leaders from whom I have learned a lot". Making it clear that a special place in her heart will always be reserved for Berlusconi, whom on the occasion of his death last year, she had described as "a dear friend", speaking of an "irreparable loss".
He was a person who was "very warm in his relationships, very hardworking, very persistent", the Kremlin leader told the audience of journalists and Russian citizens representing different regions who attended the press conference. Besides being, he added, a politician who "has done a lot for the development of relations between Italy and Russia".
But already in January 2023, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had expressed "surprise" at "seeing Italy becoming one of the leaders on the anti-Russian front". However, Putin has always used different words. "A caveman-like Russophobia is not spreading in Italy, and we take this into account". "We hope that when the situation regarding Ukraine begins to stabilize, we will be able to restore relations with Italy perhaps even faster than with some other countries", Putin added.