The Ukrainian side today accused former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of acting as a Russian propagandist after the latter said he would not seek a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky if he was still prime minister.

Berlusconi, 86, often boasted about his friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Speaking Sunday yesterday, Berlusconi said all Zelenskiy had to do to prevent war in Ukraine was to “stop attacks” on territory controlled by Russia-backed separatists. The ex-prime minister of Italy even said that he assesses the behavior of the Ukrainian president “very, very negatively.”

“Berlusconi’s ridiculous accusations against the Ukrainian president are an attempt to kiss Putin’s hands, which are up to the elbows in blood,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said in a social media post.

“At the same time, the former Italian Prime Minister must understand that by spreading Russian propaganda, he encourages Russia to continue its crimes against Ukraine and therefore bears political and moral responsibility,” Nikolenko continues, accusing Berlusconi of trying to show loyalty. Russian dictator. The representative of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry accompanied his post with a photograph in which Berlusconi kisses the hand of Muammar Gaddafi in 2010.

In contrast, Nikolenko welcomes a statement from the office of current Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, which reaffirmed the government’s “firm and confident” support for Ukraine.

Source: APE-MPE, Reuters.