Berlusconi's backslapping diplomacy
"Kind words and kisses from Vladimir Putin, compliments and thanks from Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey: it is home from home Silvio Berlusconi." This is how Corriere della Sera describes the Italian Prime Minister's involvement in the agreement between Russia and Turkey on the South Stream gas pipeline, which is to link the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.
For Paolo Scaroni, chief executive officer of Italian national energy company Eni SpA, there is no gainsaying Il Cavaliere's contribution: "The Council President's personal contacts in this part of the world are as vital as the air we breathe." The Russian-Italian led pipeline project could be a rival to the planned Nabucco pipeline, which is designed to provide Europe with a gas supply that does not cross Russia. The South Stream pipeline would make Italian energy more dependent on Russia than on the European Union – a fact that does not appear to trouble Silvio Berlusconi, who announced that "there has not been so much as a word of criticism at the G8, or any other international summit," before returning to the topic of his much-vaunted address book: "I am on personal terms with the leaders of all the Mediterranean countries, including Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Turkey and Egypt. These contacts are very important."
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