Brothers of Italy (FdI) leader
Giorgio Meloni has warned that the government she intends to
lead will back the line of NATO and the Western alliance or it
will not take office at all after her alliance partner, Forza
Italia (FI) chief Silvio Berlusconi, made controversial comments
on the war in Ukraine.
On Tuesday an audio of him telling FI lawmakers that he had
re-established ties with his old friend Vladimir Putin, with the
exchange of gifts and "sweet" letters, caused a furore.
The storm grew bigger on Wednesday when a fresh recording was
released in which Berlusconi suggested Volodymyr Zelensky's
actions had forced Moscow's invasion of its neighbour and casts
doubts about the policy of giving aid to Kyiv.
Late on Wednesday, Meloni, whose party was the driving force of
the right-wing coalition's victory in last month's general
election, issued her ultimatum, saying Italy must never be "the
weak link of the West".
In a statement, Berlusconi said his comments had been taken out
of context, stressing that his position and that of FI do not
differ with that of the government.
FI Coordinator and former European Parliament President Antonio
Tajani is set to attend a meeting of the European People's Party
(EPP) on Thursday and he has said he will "confirm my and FI's
full support of Kyiv".
Tajani had been expected to be named foreign minister in
Meloni's government but opposition parties have said he should
not get this post given what the FI leader has said about the
war in Ukraine.
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