Russian president arrives in Italy to take part in Russia-NATO summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Italy to take part in the Russia-NATO summit. The presidential jet has landed at the Italian military base Mario de Bernardi in Pratica-di-Mare, 30 kilometres south of Rome. Summing up the summit, the sides are expected to sign the so-called Rome declaration which is to fix the new format of relations between Russia and the North Atlantic Alliance. Apart from his participation in the Russia-NATO summit, Vladimir Putin is to hold a number of bilateral meetings. The Russian presidential press service reported that the Russian leader would, in particular, meet Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President Jacques Chirac, Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy and NATO Secretary-General George Robertson.