A photo from 19 years ago shows the then prime minister Silvio Berlusconic And Vladimir Putin – then as now, Russian president in office – posing on the deck of a ship that was the pride of the Moscow navy: the cruiser Moskva. According to the Pentagon’s reconstruction, the same ship that sank after the Black Sea was hit by two Ukrainian missiles (a version Russia denies, however).

On that day – it was August 30, 2003 – the cruiser was at anchor in Sardinia, off the coast of La Maddalena, right in front of the American base of Santo Stefano. Berlusconi and Putin, at that time in one of the highlights of their relationship, looked at the picket line of honor and posed for that shot that tells an era peace in which the EU and Russia were still good neighbors and Crimea was still Ukrainian territory. And nobody talked about Donbass yet.

the gas deal

In Sardinia, Putin and Berlusconi they talked about peace in Iraq (notably the strengthening of the role of the UN after the invasion of Iraq by a US-led international coalition and the fall of the Saddam Hussein) and the balance in the Middle East. But also gas and economic agreements which were then completed with Putin’s state visit to Rome a few months later, on November 5. Berlusconi insisted on his plan to bring Russia closer to the European Union and Putin assured that he wanted to start one fruitful cooperation with the future European common defence: “I think we have nothing to fear from the process of implementing European defense policy,” Putin said.Russia is ready to cooperate with NATO and with the European Defense ».

The visit on board

The two leaders had reached the cruiser with the Italian naval yacht Argo. The Vice Admiral was there to welcome them Vladimir Massorincommander of the Black Sea Fleet. On the main deck, Berlusconi and Putin found many of the 250 sailors and ship’s officersincluding some women. After you have scrolled through the picket of honor, the two leaders had begun the ship’s visit. Putin had indicated that the Moskva was not on the Costa Smeralda to protect him The program included participation in a joint exercise anti-aircraft as part of the Pfp programme,
Partner for Peace: the next day the cruiser left for the port of La Spezia together with the destroyer Audace of the Italian navy.

Mikhail Gorbachev in 1989

Mikhail Gorbachev also slept on that 186-meter ship in December 1989, on the eve of the USSR’s dissolution, before meeting US President George Bush in Malta. At that time, the cruiser was called Slava.