Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed condolences on the death of Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy.
Putin noted that Berlusconi will be remembered in Russia as a consistent and principled supporter of strengthening friendly relations between the two countries.
"For me, Berlusconi was a dear person, a true friend, I sincerely admired his wisdom and ability to make far-sighted decisions," the Russian leader said.
Berlusconi, who was hospitalized in Milan's San Raffaele hospital for scheduled follow-up tests for a blood condition last week, died aged 86, an Italian newspaper reported on Monday.
Berlusconi was rushed to hospital on Friday afternoon, just three weeks after leaving the clinic. The re-hospitalization of the veteran of Italian politics understandably alarmed many supporters and political allies of the ex-prime minister, according to media reports.
However, the ex-PM’s attending physicians said that the new hospitalization was due to the need to "carry out planned control studies in connection with a known hematological pathology."
The bulletin, which was released on Friday by the former prime minister's personal physician Alberto Zangrillo and hematologist Fabio Ciceri, reportedly noted that their patient's condition was stable.
This was preceded by Berlusconi being admitted to the San Raffaele hospital on April 5. Italian media reported at the time that he was being hospitalized due to breathing problems, but later on, the ex-PM's attending physicians reported for the first time that he was suffering from chronic leukemia. He received chemotherapy at the clinic and was discharged on May 19.
The billionaire media tycoon first came to office in 1994 and was at the helm of four of the country’s governments between then and 2011.
Berlusconi led the center-right Forza Italia party which went into coalition under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after elections in September 2022, when he was elected to the Senate, Italy's upper house.
The media mogul's political career saw him being convicted of tax fraud in late 2012, for which he served a year-long sentence doing part-time community service at a residential home in Milan. His ban on running for office was scrapped in time for the Italian general elections in 2018, when Forza Italia ran in coalition with the League and Brothers of Italy. At the end of the day, Forza Italia fell short of the 40% required to become the ruling party.
Apart from tax scheme-related scandals, Berlusconi was involved in trials over his sexual escapades. He was once convicted, but later cleared of charges of having sex with an underage nightclub dancer during one of his so-called "bunga bunga" parties.
Berlusconi was married twice and he has been survived by his five children.