Kremlin denies media reports that Putin will meet Berlusconi in Italy

The Kremlin denied Italian media reports claiming that President Vladimir Putin will travel to Italy for a meeting with former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. “The president is working in his residence today,” presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told ITAR-TASS on Monday, August 5. Earlier in the day, Putin met with Khakassia’s acting Head Viktor Zimin and Sberbank CEO German Gref. The Italian newspaper La Stampa said in an exclusive report earlier in the day that Putin was to arrive in Italy for a late dinner with his “friend Silvio” who is living through hard times following the court of appeals’ verdict that upheld the financial fraud charges against his company Mediaset. Berlusconi was sentenced to a term of four years in prison, which was subsequently reduced to one year by amnesty, and barred from holding senior government positions for five years.