Chapter 3519: The Status of the Secretary of State
Berlusconi was furious. M//.//He never expected this situation. He originally thought that catching Bernardo would be a great achievement, it would be the biggest blow to the Mafia, and it could even weaken the power of the Mafia to a great extent.
But who could have expected that Bernardo, the mafia leader, would actually do these things for himself. How does he deal with this? Now the whole country is arresting Bernardo, and the army has been dispatched. He was still happy before, but now he is starting to worry. What if he really catches Bernardo? If Bernardo revealed to the police that he helped him kill the judge in Naples, he would be really happy.
"Lin, this matter is so nonsense! How could this be possible!" Berlusconi was sweating profusely. "You have to know that if Bernardo confesses you, you will be finished."
"Prime Minister Berlusconi, I have no way to solve your three problems. I can only rely on Bernardo's power. As for whether he will testify against me afterwards, I believe he still has some moral integrity. Because it wouldn't hurt me much if I confessed. At most, I won't come to Italy," Lin Feng said lightly.
Berlusconi was so angry that his teeth were itching. Lin Feng could stop coming to Italy, but he couldn't. If he leaves Italy, it means everything is for naught. Everything he had worked hard for in Italy over the years, except wealth, was all in vain. And he is very likely to become Italy's most famous prime minister, and very likely the most infamous prime minister.
"Lin, you have created a big trouble for me, a huge trouble!" Berlusconi yelled out of control.
Lin Feng smiled calmly.
"It is indeed troublesome, but at least it helps you solve the problem, right? Prime Minister Berlusconi, don't worry, Italy will not return to the terror of the Mafia. As long as Bernardo is not caught, then you will It's absolutely fine. He will never contact you. Of course, even if he is caught, I think it's best not to catch him. , it will work the same this time," Lin Feng said.
Berlusconi looked annoyed. Things have become like this, and now he has no way out. The safest way is to keep Bernardo from being caught. If he was caught, there was no telling what would happen. All in all, this time it gave him a headache.
"Okay. Prime Minister Berlusconi is dead. This is something that cannot be changed. At the critical moment, just let him go. I believe you don't need me to teach you. Of course, as for Bernardo, I I will also tell him not to bother you," Lin Feng said.
Berlusconi nodded helplessly. For now, that's all it can do. Unless he can kill Bernardo with one shot, but this possibility is too low. And once the sniper is unable to kill, the mafia godfather will be angered and reveal everything to the outside world.
You're done for yourself.
Three days later, while fully arresting Bernardo, Italy also officially established diplomatic relations with Libya. And Italy will invest US$2.5 billion in Libya as compensation. Build a road across Libya to connect Tunisia and Egypt. And help build schools and hospitals in Libya.
At the same time, Italy will work with Libya to crack down on smuggling, and will establish a joint coast guard to crack down on various smugglers smuggling into Europe through the Mediterranean. Of course, there is another potentially unknown clause that is naturally unknown to outsiders: Italy will have the most favored country status in Europe and will enjoy 5% preferential treatment than other European countries.
"Haha, Mr. Lin, thank you for your help. Italy is finally willing to apologize and compensate, thank you!" Gaddafi called happily, expressing satisfaction with the result. Gaddafi has always wanted to establish diplomatic relations with Europe, promote trade and improve Libya's environment. But his strong nationalism and past history prevent him from easily establishing diplomatic relations with these European countries, at least until they do not admit their past mistakes.
This time, Italy was willing to apologize. Although the apology was in the name of investment, at least Italy was willing to apologize, which Gaddafi could accept. And with the beginning of Italy, the rest of the story is easy to explain.
Subsequently, Saif successively visited France, the United Kingdom, Spain and other countries, and all reached similar terms. Of course, since these countries did not directly occupy Libya, they did not provide compensation like Italy, but both sides sent ambassadors and conducted trade exchanges. Europe will never impose any restrictions on Libya’s trade. Of course, as a condition, Libya must also ensure priority supply of Europe's demand for oil and natural gas.
Gaddafi even boasted that he would invest US$7.8 billion to build an undersea tunnel through the Mediterranean to transport natural gas and oil there, so that Europe can more conveniently enjoy Libya's oil and natural gas resources.
Gaddafi's feat has undoubtedly won high praise from European heads of state. Although Libya and Europe face each other across the Mediterranean Sea, transportation by tanker will still be very slow. And if there is an undersea tunnel that goes directly through the Mediterranean Sea and lands in Greece, this will greatly improve the efficiency of oil transportation. This has been proposed before. However, due to the huge amount of this project and the huge investment, and the relationship with Libya has not been very friendly, European heads of state have not made this suggestion.
This time, Gaddafi took the initiative to propose and temporarily bear all the expenses alone, which naturally made European countries feel very good. Moreover, with natural gas, it can also reduce the demand of European countries for Russian natural gas. In the past, Russian natural gas was a necessary resource for European countries to survive the winter. Without Russian natural gas, European countries would have a hard time in winter.
However, Russian natural gas must pass through Ukraine first, and Ukraine's economy is very bad. It owes Russia billions of dollars in natural gas fees, which makes Russia often cut off gas to punish Ukraine. As a result, once Russia cuts off gas, Ukraine will naturally have no gas, but Europe will also have no gas. Every time European countries have to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, and sometimes they even have to come up with a package of measures to improve Ukraine's economy.
If there are natural gas resources on the Libyan side, the possibility of Europe being controlled by Russia will be much smaller. After this, if Ukraine and Russia are arguing again, they don't have to rush to rescue them at the first time and let Ukraine and Russia argue there.
"President Gaddafi's move has made a great contribution to Europe and he is a good friend of Europe. I believe that under the leadership of President Gaddafi, the relationship between the EU and Libya will advance by leaps and bounds, and the two sides will become the best partners!" Berlusconi praised Libya's move.
Not only Berlusconi praised Gaddafi's move, but also EU countries, Britain, France, Spain, and Germany praised Gaddafi's move, believing that this move will allow European people to enjoy better quality oil and natural gas, which will improve the living standards of EU people.
At this time, in the United States, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice accepted Bush's appointment.
"What do you think about the relationship between Libya and the EU?" Bush asked.
Libya is a thorn in the heart of the United States. This is not only due to Libya's oil and natural gas resources, but also due to Gaddafi's disrespect for the United States. The United States has never heard of any military bases around the world being confiscated by any country. But Libya did it, and did it very decisively, without notifying the United States at all, and unilaterally confiscated it.
This can be regarded as a great shame in American history, second only to Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. The US government will never forget. If Gaddafi refuses to admit his mistakes and allow the US to rebuild a military base in Libya (all costs must be borne by Libya), then the US will never let Gaddafi go.
"Mr. President, no matter how close the relationship between the EU and Libya is now, the world is still about who has the bigger fist and who has the more weight. EU countries dare not disobey our government. As long as our government determines that Gaddafi is a dictator and a brutal tyrant, then no matter how the relationship between the EU and Libya is now, the EU will definitely abandon Libya. Moreover, maybe the EU will step hard on Libya at that time." Secretary of State Rice said calmly.
This is an era of power, and the United States is the only power in this era. Therefore, the United States is not afraid of anything. Of course, when it comes to Libya in the future, it will not be possible to fight as it did against Iraq. This will be a little troublesome. However, no matter how troublesome it is, it is not a trouble for the US government.
Excuses are always found by people.
After hearing what Rice said, President Bush finally felt relieved. There are still two years left in his term. In these two years, he will try to end the Iraq War. As for Libya, he may not be able to end it during his term. But he does not want to leave difficulties for his successor. Libya, Iran, and North Korea are all countries that the United States will have to deal with in the future. He hopes that during his term, he can pave the way for his successor.
Seeing that Bush had nothing else to say, Rice stood up and said goodbye. In the United States, the Secretary of State is equivalent to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of other countries, but unlike the Minister of Foreign Affairs of other countries, the Secretary of State of the United States is the first minister and has great power. Not only does the President of the United States need to submit his resignation to the Secretary of State, but he also has the right to deal with some federal affairs together with the President of the United States, and the United States Seal is also kept and used by the Secretary of State.
Of course, no matter how powerful the Secretary of State is, his status is lower than that of the President of the United States. However, in foreign affairs, the Secretary of State has the right to act arbitrarily.
"Go and find out what Lin Feng is related to this matter!" Rice gave an order. With her woman's intuition, she felt that Lin Feng was inseparable from this matter. (To be continued)