The 20 bottles of vodka sent last month to former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as a birthday gift from Russian President Vladimir Putin violate European sanctions imposed on Moscow in response to the invasion of Ukraine, the European Commission said on Thursday. 20).
Berlusconi, who turned 86 on Sept. 29, caused a furor this week when he said in an audio that he was back in touch with Putin, from whom he also reportedly received “a very kind letter” along with his drinks. The two were quite close, but would have drifted apart after the start of the Ukrainian War.
Berlusconi reportedly responded with “a few bottles of Lambrusco [tipo de vinho produzido na Itália]”.
An EU sanctions package agreed in April extended the ban on imports of Russian products to include spirits, including vodka, a European Commission spokesman said on Thursday. He added that there is no exemption for gifts. However, it is up to each EU country to implement the sanctions, and it is unclear whether Italy will look into the matter.
Berlusconi is in the spotlight now as his party forms part of the right-wing coalition that makes up Italy’s new government, scheduled to officially start in the coming days with Giorgia Meloni, with whom Berlusconi is reportedly falling out, as prime minister.
Last week, photos of a note in which the former prime minister called the leader of the Brothers of Italy party were spread on social media as arrogant, domineering and offensive. Afterwards, he reiterated that he will be Meloni’s advisor.
In the audio, Berlusconi also says he is extremely concerned about the situation in Ukraine, but says he cannot give his true opinion on the matter because “if [ela] come out in the press, there will be a disaster.” Last month, the Italian leader drew criticism for saying that Putin had been pushed into war because he wanted to put “decent people” in charge of Kiev.
In response to Berlusconi’s comments, Meloni, who has already taken a strong stance against the Ukraine War, said his government would be pro-Europe and pro-NATO, the Western military alliance.
The speech about rapprochement was recorded in an audio sent to deputies and released by an Italian news agency on Tuesday (18). A spokesman for Berlusconi’s Forza, Italy party denied that he was in contact with Putin, saying the audio was an old story.
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