By RIA Novosti,
Rome : Russia’s Vladimir Putin, now in the final weeks of his presidency, will hold talks on Sardinia Friday with Italian prime minister-elect Silvio Berlusconi.
During the Italian billionaire’s second term as premier from 2001 to 2006, the two met on numerous occasions, and Berlusconi was seen as Putin’s key ally in Europe.
Putin arrived in Sardinia Thursday night after the completion of his two-day visit to Libya.
Putin’s spokesman, Alexei Gromov, said the talks would address the future of Russian-Italian relations, but did not give details on the agenda.
Putin and Berlusconi, whose coalition won parliamentary elections on April 13-14, had an official dinner Thursday. Berlusconi’s spokesman, Paolo Bonaiuti, described the dinner as a meeting of old friends. He said the two leaders discussed their future plans and the situations in their countries, including the recent elections in Italy.
Putin, who will cede the presidency to his hand-picked successor Dmitry Medvedev on May 7 and will become Russia’s prime minister and chairman of the ruling United Russia party, spent three days at Berlusconi’s villa on Sardinia in 2003 and characterized the island as “a luxurious place.”