Zelenskyy on Berlusconi's scandalous statements: We can send him vodka

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has jokingly responded to Silvio Berlusconi, who is the leader of the Forza Italia (Forward Italy) political party, and said that the current Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will be able to preserve the unity of her government. 

Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with Italian news outlet Corriere Della Sera, as reported by European Pravda 

Quote: "I have heard Berlusconi's statements. I do not know him personally. But maybe we need to send him something, too. Does he like vodka? Ours in Ukraine is very good quality, so we will send him some, if he wants."

Details: The President has mentioned vodka for a reason. After the government of Giorgia Meloni came to power, an audio recording of Berlusconi appeared where he said that "Putin sent me 20 bottles of vodka and a very sweet letter. I responded with bottles of Lambrusco and an equally sweet letter. I was declared to be one of his five true friends". 

Zelenskyy has pointed out that Italy's support, as well as that of other countries, is crucial for Ukraine, as it has been difficult to achieve it taking into account the Kremlin's intensive disinformation campaign. 

Quote: "I believe that part of our weakness is related to the work of Russian propaganda. That is why I have created a system of non-stop communication for providing the true version of facts from the first day of the invasion. Since the Russian invasion of Crimea and Donbas, we have seen that spreading fake news comes first before tanks. We think that Italy's support is crucial for ensuring the support of other countries, and it is also about Europe's unity where Italy plays a key role in economic, social and political spheres. Nevertheless, I am convinced: Giorgia is a strong woman who will be able to preserve the unity of her government."

Background: Media outlets have reported that Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy, will arrive in Kyiv for a visit on 21 February. 

It was reported earlier that Berlusconi said that he would not meet Zelenskyy if he still was the Prime Minister, when commenting on the meeting of Meloni and Zelenskyy at the EU Summit in Brussels.

While voting at the regional elections in Lombardia, Berlusconi added that if Zelenskyy had stopped "attacking" two regions in the east of Ukraine, the Russian invasion of Ukraine would not have happened at all.

Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded to this and stated that by spreading Russian propaganda, the former Italian Prime Minister was encouraging Russia to continue its crimes against Ukraine. 

Later, Berlusconi stated that he had always been on the side of the Ukrainian people.

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