OREANDA-NEWS. November 14, 2011. The Russian President thanked Mr Berlusconi for many years of constructive joint work and his important personal contribution as Italian Prime Minister to the development of multifaceted Russian-Italian relations.

During the conversation the parties noted that cooperation between their two countries has reached an unprecedentedly high level, and expressed their hopes for its future progressive development.

Dmitry Medvedev also sent Silvio Berlusconi a telegram, which reads, in part:

“It would be hard to overestimate your personal contribution to developing Russian-Italian relations. Thanks to you and your tireless efforts our countries have established a strategic partnership distinguished by a high level of consensus. We can be deservedly proud of our bilateral cooperation results and our big joint undertakings in the political, trade, economic, scientific, technological, cultural and humanitarian fields. They include the establishment of an effective functioning mechanism for expanding interstate consultations under our joint chairmanship, and the organisation of reciprocal culture and language years – a cultural project of unprecedented scale.

Russia and Italy have built an effective system for cooperation in international affairs based on our common goal of a just, democratic, and safe world.

All of this has further reinforced the traditional friendship and mutual sympathy that have bound our peoples together for many centuries now.

I particularly value the way you have always shown yourself to be a most sincere and dependable friend of Russia. I value the good relations between us and hope they will continue. I will always be happy to meet with you, discuss and exchange views with you, for your ideas and advice as one of the world’s most experienced and influential politicians, will always be in great demand.”