During the dinner the Russian President gave a speech in honour of his Italian counterpart Carlo Ciampi and thanked him for the hospitality.
Vladimir Putin noted that Russia and Italy had a significant potential for implementing major joint projects on an all-European scale.
Europe has always been and remains focal to the Russian-Italian dialogue. This attitude keynoted the preparation for the Russia-European Union summit due to open in Rome tomorrow, November 6.
The President expressed hope that the summit would be a landmark along the road of further rapprochement between Russia and Europe.
See also
State Visit to Italy and Vatican
November 3 − 6, 2003