Translated material
Lips
Italy for Vladimir Putin is something like a window to Europe: the June meeting with the Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has become the fourth over the past year. Was a new session of public diplomacy? The President’s movements on appenins were monitored by The NEW Times correspondent
Dear president, welcome, ”says Matteo Renzi with a stone face: he had to wait for his guest under the scorching sun for more than an hour - Putin was habitually late. “First of all, I thank our friend for the invitation to the exhibition,” is heard in response.
On the streets of Milan, the Russians and Italians with posters, similar to prayer, appear unknown from nowhere: "Putin, save the world." And also-flags of the DPR-LNR and with the image of George the Victorious. They saw them, by the way, in the pavilions of the exhibition "EXPO-2015", which Putin arrived at. In war as in war: Putin shows with his whole appearance that his current visit to Milan is a breakthrough of the blockade of the European Union, and demonstrates confidence, seriousness and impassivity. His severity and slowness, it seems, like Italians. “He cares more about the economy than our prime minister,” someone in the crowd notes. And one woman is completely admitted to the NT correspondent that she would like to see the head of Italy, “a strong person who is similar to Putin, who can stretch the country from the economic swamp.” They are not embarrassed that somewhere at a distance Ukrainians protest with the poster “Putin, hands off Ukraine!”, And even further the Adolf Putin poster is visible. “Well, everything is clear right there: Putin came to play the weaknesses of Europe and her worthless politicians,” says a person holding a portrait of the Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, languishing in a Russian prison. 
“Feed the planet, defeat the hunger”-this is the main slogan “EXPO-2015”. After the ceremony of raising the flags of the two countries and the performance of the hymns, Putin and Renzi are going to business - they try Ravioli, olives and sorbet and discuss the situation in Ukraine. Putin says: "I have done my part of the work in the Donbass, now Europeans must convince Kyiv to make their own." Renzi nods silently. The General Director of the company Finmeccanica and Pirelli immediately-and these are giants of the Italian industry-are also silent, and it is not very clear what contribution to the implementation of the Minsk agreements can be made, especially since the background of the joint projects frozen due to sanctions.
“He (Putin) says all this not seriously, if he really needs to say something important on the Ukrainian issue, he will call Merkel or Hollande, and not Renzi at all,” one Italian politician of the old school sarcastically remarks in a conversation with NT . Be that as it may, the Italian owners laid the Russian guests gently. Only two days earlier, at the G7 summit in the Bavarian Castle of Elmau, Renzi agreed with Barack Obama and Angel Merkel: the question of new sanctions against Russia in Milan will not rise. Obama and Merkel already know: Italy is a weak link in the European Union in the chain of anti -Russian sanctions. A week before the summit in Bavaria, Moscow was visited by the Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentloni, where, according to rumors, he assured his Russian counterparts: there will be no tightening of sanctions, talking about it too. But Putin, finding himself at the exit from the Russian pavilion of the exhibition in front of a hundred journalists, did not escape this topic. In fact, he had to start with the sanctions: “Italy is the third largest economic partner in Russia, and both of our countries (as a result of sanctions. - NT ) lose billion euros and jobs for our citizens.” Try to say now that Putin is not the genius of Piara: he said exactly that the citizens of Italy, where unemployment among young people reached 40 %, and wanted to hear. (Later, at a press conference with Renzi, Putin noted that they spoke, of course, about sanctions, “but very mundane”, “not in terms of canceling or reduction”, but in that they will lose from unrealized joint projects with Russia , first of all, Italian firms, “and we will find, naturally.”) 
The secret of one billion
In fact, the Italian economists have already calculated everything: in 2014, the turnover of Russia and Italy fell from € 53 million to € 48, in early 2015 - by another quarter. And the loss of business amounted to € 165 million. This is far from a billion that Putin says. But no one objects to him. Putin repeats about the losses from sanctions in the course of communicating with the press twice, and it is absolutely clear who he is addressing: to investors and entrepreneurs interested in the Russian market. He also speaks for those who lose their work in Italy - that is, not for people in the front row, but for the second row and galleries. The blockade of the EU and the USA cannot be broken through politicians, but you can try to do it with the help of financiers - this is Putin and reminds them of the effectiveness of joint projects of the past. And in the memory of everyone there is a figure of € 1 billion. Everyone repeats it, without thinking that this is just an imaginary potential. 
Thirst for the future without sanctions Putin in the Russian Pavilion "EXPO" suggested Renzi to quench the Russian kvass. Renzi reacted with a joke: “I hope I don’t have to drink vodka in the morning.” Renzi joked (for example: “I told the Minister Lavrov that if he does not provide us with a decision on Libya, we will not invite him for lunch”), trying to amuse his guest, but his efforts went past the goal. Finally, Renzi switches to compliments: "The Russian pavilion at the exhibition is one of the largest." At that moment, he still did not know that the Italian company, which built it, complained to the government that she was still not paid for work.
Matteo Renzi and his ministers cannot help but remember the words of Barack Obama spoken at the summit in Germany: the policy of Russia, which violated the sovereignty of another state, completely contradicts the values of the "seven". Putin must choose: either he continues to build his empire, or stops destroying the Russian economy. But Putin has not yet chosen, but most likely, he had already chosen the first, because during the press conference he dismissively called the “seven” “Club of Interests”, which does not make any decisions. And observers also noted: during the press conference, Putin and Renzi almost did not look at each other. 
Soft dad
After Milan, Putin went to Rome (Putin’s fans were also found here. “I saw him!” - one woman shouted. The rest repeated “Putin! Putin! No sanctions! No sanctions!”), Or rather, to the Vatican. The day before Putin’s arrival, the largest Italian newspaper La Repubblica wrote: “The story of 2013 when Putin was late for the audience with dad and will not happen again. We argue for anything: this time it will be punctual up to the second. ” The newspaper was mistaken - Putin was late for an hour. This is exactly ten minutes more than the time that he spent a conversation with Pope Francis, who patiently waited until a cavalcade of black limousines with 70 journalists and battalion of ministers and officials appeared, including the head of Rosneft Igor Sechin, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov and Minister of Industry Denis Manturov. What made Italian journalists ask the question again: why are these people here, in the Vatican?
Pope Francis, in turn, had just arrived from Sarajevo, where he spoke about the Third World War, which "goes here and here." The hopes of Moscow are built on the fact that the Vatican can become a new ally of Russia in the world arena. And of course, in Moscow they heard criticism of Francis from Kyiv (the Kiev Patriarchate called for the pope to join the Russian isolation policy) and Washington: Papa de shows excessive softness, he should refuse to meet with the “stone guest” and “king”-as Putin is often called in the Italian press. And dad did not refuse. “Bergolo (Pope Francis.- NT )-not Voitla (Papa Polyak John Paul II.- NT ). He knew well what the Cold War was. Voitsla would not meet with him (with Putin), ”the Ukrainian pilgrim tells the NT correspondent. And adds: "I feel devoted."
"Willkommen!" -Dad turned to Putin in German, apparently not paying attention to the advice of the US ambassador in the Vatican of Kenneth Hickett "to express concern in the position in Ukraine." It can be seen that Putin in the company of dad feels more comfortable than in the company of Renzi, he examines with interest the ceilings and walls of the Vatican.
During their previous meeting in November 2013, the main topic was a peaceful settlement in Syria. Now the most important thing is a truce in Ukraine, but in the end it turns out that dad is more interested in the Middle East, and it delicately recalls that "Russia has a great weight in some countries of the region." Such a conversation more impresses Putin, but here the detail does not slip away from the observers: even in the company of the Pope, he is not in the best mood.
In the end, Putin meets with his old “friend Silvio” - Silvio Berlusconi, a political mummy, which has lost influence even in his breathing in the forth “forward, Italy!” Berlusconi had to wait for Putin at the Roman Airport FiMichino the longest - almost an hour and a half (thus, in just one day Putin was late three times). They have known each other for 14 years and used to clap each other on the shoulders and together spent a vacation. Friendly feelings are noticeable now: Sylvio carefully helps Vladimir, who got out of the car, put on a jacket. But - an incredible thing! - Putin and with Berlusconi does not look peaceful - a quick smile and again tension in his face. Apparently, this is today's Russian message to the West.
Photo: Alexey Nikolsky/TASS, EPA/Telenews, Gregorio Borgia/Pool/Reuters