Go to the mediabankPercio Italia MP Silvio Berlusconi at the first session of the new European Parliament in Strasbourg. File photo ROME, Oct 26 Former prime minister and leader of the Forward Italy party, Silvio Berlusconi, said that the start of Russia's special operation in Ukraine rolled back the state of relations between the Russian Federation and Europe to the time before 2002. In May 2002 Russia and NATO countries at the military base of Pratica di Mare signed agreements on strengthening work in areas of common interest and on countering common challenges. />Zelensky is able to stop the fighting in Ukraine, Berlusconi said Berlusconi said that during his tenure as prime minister, he planned to bring Russia and Europe closer together so that, as a «fortified West», they together «opposed the main challenge of the 21st century, Chinese expansionism.» «Unfortunately, the invasion of Ukraine brought our plan to naught, because we returned to the state before 2002, when Russia was isolated from Europe, and Europe and the West united against Russia,» he said, speaking in the Senate of the national parliament. «Of course, in this situation, we can only be with the West in defending the rights of such a free and democratic country as Ukraine.We must work for peace, and we will do this in full agreement with our Western allies and respecting the will of the Ukrainian people.In this our position is firm and clear and cannot be questioned by anyone, for whatever reason,» Berlusconi said. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops and , on March 25, completed the main tasks of the first stage — significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The ultimate goal of the operation, according to the supreme commander, is «the liberation of Donbass and the creation of conditions that would guarantee the security of Russia itself.» Putin has previously said that Russia has always said that it is open to negotiations on Ukraine, if Kyiv matures, then mediation efforts will be required those who offer.
