Berlusconi defies allies, invites Kuchma to Rome

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, defying U.S. efforts to isolate Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma over alleged arms smuggling to Iraq, said on Friday he had invited him to Rome to discuss joining NATO.

Berlusconi told Reuters after a NATO summit which Kuchma attended despite being told he would be unwelcome, that the Ukrainian leader would visit Italy mid-next week.

"We will speak about our relationship and about the idea of President Kuchma to enter NATO," he said. "I believe we will have a strong relationship with so important a country." //Reuters

Kuchma's a product of the Dnepropetrovsk mafia, hand-picked by George Soros to look after his business interests. He would even sell his mother for a buck.

Last year he took several S-400 advanced SAMs paid for by the taxpayers of the Ukraine and sold them to Iraq - with 100% of the proceeds ending up in his private accounts. Supposedly the deal got caught in time, and the missiles detained in Somalia.

The pressure is building to run this crook out. There have been several big demonstrations in Kiev against him, from all sides of the political spectrum. Donbass coal miners, newspapers, teachers, trade unions, communists, and small business owners all want him gone. Everyone, except for Soros. The balloting in the Ukraine is like 1930s Chicago - vote this way or lose your job. Regions in the east which didn't go for Kuchma have been without running water for almost five years.

The average wages there are about half what it takes to live. $100 a month in Kiev down to $5-10 a month in the eastern oblasti. Much of the Ukraine is now working in Western Europe, and a good number in Italy. These workers do all the crap work, like waitressing and looking after grannies, and their remittances probably keep the Ukraine from starving.

Kuchma's relationship with Italy is similar to Mexico's with the US. Parasitic but temporarily useful.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.