Posted on 11/07/2003 2:40:11 PM PST by RussianConservative
ROME -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi came to the aid of President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, defending him against criticism he has faced over the attack on imprisoned billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky's empire.
Putin, on a two-day state visit to Italy, including a meeting with Pope John Paul II and a summit with the European Union on Thursday, came under international pressure over the arrest of Khodorkovsky for fraud and tax evasion in what critics allege is a politically driven probe.
Berlusconi, a personal friend of Putin, said the president had explained the Yukos case and that it did not seem a political use of power.
The conservative Italian leader, a billionaire businessman himself who has faced numerous court cases, frequently criticizes members of the Italian judiciary whom he describes as leftists aiming to oust him. His forces in parliament passed a law this year that blocked his trial on corruption charges.
"In Italy, I have fought to ensure that there is not a political use of the judiciary," he said. "President Putin explained to me the motivation of the [Russian] judiciary. From the picture he painted, I don't think you can talk of a political use of power."
It was Putin's second visit to Italy this year. In August, he spent three days on vacation at Berlusconi's Sardinian estate.
Within 24 hours of Putin's arrival, the two leaders had already eaten two lavish meals together: lunch on Wednesday and dinner with their wives the night before. After formal talks, the two offered each other warm words. Putin described Berlusconi as a man "who knows what he wants" and who "keeps his word." The Italian leader said Putin has "humanity, wisdom and farsightedness." Berlusconi, whose nation currently holds the rotating EU presidency, has strongly supported Russia's efforts to join the World Trade Organization and has even suggested Russia could become part of a "Big Europe" along with Israel and Turkey.
Putin says Russia is not pressing to join the EU.
Thursday's EU-Russia summit is the last such formal meeting before the EU takes in 10 new members in May, most of them Moscow's former satellites in the days of the Soviet bloc. The summit will focus on ties in economics, border control, justice and education.
In a separate development Wednesday, Putin said he had authorized Italian energy giant Eni to export Russian gas outside Italy.
"We have given permission to Eni to export Russian gas to third countries," Putin told reporters.
Eni buys 20 billion cubic meters of gas per year from the Russian energy giant Gazprom, Europe's biggest supplier of natural gas.
EU Competition Commissioner Mario Monti said last month the EU had reached a deal with Eni and Gazprom on gas sales restrictions in which Eni would no longer be contractually prevented from reselling outside Italy gas it buys from Gazprom.
n Putin's meeting with Pope John Paul II on Wednesday was viewed as unlikely to lead to the offer the ailing pontiff so wants: an invitation to visit Russia.
Such a trip -- seen as bringing the Western and Eastern branches of Christianity closer together -- has been one of the unrealized dreams of John Paul's 25-year pontificate. The Russian Orthodox Church, wary of advances by the Catholic Church since the fall of communism, has so far blocked it.
Before leaving for Italy, Putin told Italian reporters in Moscow that he wanted to help end the dispute between the Vatican and the Orthodox Church, but that Russia would defend its faith and identity.
"I see my task not in ensuring the pope's visit to Russia, but in helping these steps toward unity," he said. "Naturally, it would be possible only if the churches reach an agreement."
The 83-year-old pope suffers from Parkinson's disease and hip and knee ailments that limit his speech and mobility. But his aides have not ruled out further international travel.
During his general audience earlier Wednesday in St. Peter's Square, the pope was alert, read parts of his speech and sang a portion of a prayer.
The Russian Orthodox Church has accused the Catholics of poaching converts in Russia and other traditionally Orthodox lands in the former Soviet Union. It says it will not agree to a papal visit until the Catholics stop missionary activities and withdraw claims to disputed church property in western Ukraine.
The pope and Putin met for the first time three years ago. At that time, Putin failed to formally renew an invitation to John Paul offered by his two predecessors, Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin.
To meet John Paul's desires, the Vatican had looked into the possibility of a stop in the central Russian city of Kazan during a proposed trip to Mongolia in August. Using the pretext of returning an icon that hangs in his apartment, John Paul would have become the first pope to step on Russian soil.
But the Mongolia trip was postponed and plans for the Kazan stopover were shelved.
(AP, Reuters)
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.