PARMA - Europe should try to bring Russia into the European Union, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Saturday, a day after announcing a NATO-Russia summit.
Berlusconi announced Friday that Italy would host the summit at the end of May, during which NATO and Russia were to sign an agreement on a new council to coordinate actions. The Italian premier said Saturday that Russian membership in the EU might be considered now.
"The next goal is to bring Russia in the European Union in order to make the EU a political and military power as well as an economic one," Berlusconi said at the annual congress of employers' body Confindustria.
NATO nations agreed in December to build stronger ties with Russia, grateful for Russian President Vladimir Putin's cooperation in the post-Sept. 11 anti-terrorism campaign.
A conservative media magnate, Berlusconi has sought to raise his profile on the international stage since taking office last year. He first offered to host a NATO-Russia summit in March, then followed up with a visit to Moscow.
During the visit, he said closer ties between Russia and the West would strengthen global stability and pledged his support for Russia's entry into the World Trade Organization.
On Friday, he held phone conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President George W. Bush and NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson, in which they agreed on the summit. /The Associated Press/