Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has expressed his deep satisfaction over the signing of a new Russian-U.S. arms reduction treaty, the Italian government has said.
"This result is... an award for a mission that the chairman of the Council of Ministers has historically realized in all his international political activities, starting from the summit in Pratica di Mare in May 2002 aimed at the overcoming of opposition between the two nuclear arsenals, which are potentially capable of destroying ten times the whole global population," a statement said.
"Starting from the G20 summit in London on April 1 last year, Chairman Berlusconi has personally made maximum efforts to improve relations between the U.S. administration and the Russian government," the Italian government's statement said.
The strategic arms pact stipulates that the number of nuclear warheads is to be reduced to 1,550 on each side, while the number of delivery vehicles must not exceed 800 on each side. The document, which is still to be ratified by the two countries' parliaments, is expected to bring Moscow and Washington to a new level of cooperation in the areas of nuclear disarmament and arms control.
Berlusconi, who developed strong personal ties with Russia's former president and current prime minister, Vladimir Putin, has said Russia and the U.S. must have only friendly relations and offered his help in restoring ties between Moscow and Washington. The ties had been deteriorated over a host of issues until the Russian and U.S. presidents announced the course towards the "reset" in bilateral relations in April last year.
ROME, April 9 (RIA Novosti)
