ROME, May 21. /ITAR-TASS/. Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said an antidemocratic coup occurred in Ukraine in February.
“Antidemocratic events keep occurring in Ukraine. Many people say power has gone into the hands of a group of dangerous Nazis. Kiev keeps running into debts, the country has no money to pay for essentials, for example, gas,” Berlusconi told the Italian private television channel La7 on Tuesday.
Crimea's reunification with Russia
Berlusconi said it was natural for the people of Crimea, who found themselves in difficult economic and political conditions, to ask Russia for support.
“The Russian military on the borders was a guarantee that there will be no massacre in Crimea, where people were afraid of Kiev,” Berlusconi said. “The referendum in Crimea was a manifestation of the people’s right to self-determination,” he said.
Asked whether “Russia took the right position”, the politician said confidently, “Absolutely”.
Sanctions against Russia
The veteran of European politics said the West is making a big mistake by trying to isolate Russia.
“Our countries have in a dilettante manner of forgotting what the Cold War is. They should have held a G8 summit (in Russia), but they gave it up,” Berlusconi said.
A regular summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations was due to be held in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi in June, but member countries except Russia (G7) decided in March that the summit will not be held in Sochi but in Brussels instead. The move came as the West’s response to Russia’s position on events in Ukraine.