President Vladimir Putin:
Dear Mr Prime Minister,
Allow me to wish you a sincere welcome to Moscow. I am very grateful that you have accepted our invitation, the Russian leadership’s invitation to visit Russia, particularly during these difficult days when Italy has just gone through the tragic loss of its citizens taken hostage in Iraq. Before beginning our discussion, I would first like to express to you, to the families of the hostages and to all Italians, our sincere condolences on this occasion. We hope very much, of course, that the lives of the remaining hostages will be saved.
We have many bilateral, economic and political questions to discuss. But the current events inevitably entail some changes to our agenda and we will discuss in detail what is happening in Iraq and examine possibilities for breaking out of the current situation and improving the state of affairs there.
As for the economy, we are making progress here and our relations are developing at an intensive pace. I would like to inform you that, according to our customs statistics, Italy is now solidly in second place among our Western partners for trade turnover with our country, and our trade turnover rose by 12.9 percent last year.
I know that you have just attended the opening of a new Italian bank that has begun work in Moscow. I am very pleased to see that implementation is going ahead of the idea that you put forward two years ago of creating Italian industrial areas in Russia. I am absolutely certain that, despite the problems and challenges we must face, your visit here is a very timely one and will be very fruitful.