SARDINIA (ITALY). April 18 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Silvio Berlusconi on his "convincing victory" at the Italian parliamentary elections and said he hoped that bilateral relations would be more active once Russia and Italy have formed new governments.
"Hopefully, the traditional friendship, cooperation and partnership will continue after the formation of the new government," Putin told journalists after talks with Berlusconi in Sardinia on Friday.
It was Berlusconi "who initiated this cooperation," he added.
"Both Russia and Italy have just finished their elections. New governments will be formed very soon. And for us it is important that these internal political processes should not only keep going, but also facilitate a more active development of the Russian-Italian dialogue," the Russian president said.
In 2007 trade between Russia and Italy reached a record level of $36 billion," Putin said.