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Silvio Berlusconi boasts of closeness to Vladimir Putin
Rome correspondent, BBC News
Silvio Berlusconi, who will be part of Italy's new coalition government, has whipped up a storm of criticism by boasting that he had renewed ties with Vladimir Putin through exchanging "lovely letters" in which the Russian leader had called him "number one among his five best friends".
The three-time prime minister, whose "bunga bunga" sex parties and closeness to the Kremlin have made him no stranger to controversy, made the remarks to his MPs.
In audio of the meeting obtained by the Italian news agency LaPresse, Mr Berlusconi said Mr Putin had sent him twenty bottles of vodka for his birthday and a "very lovely letter."
He went on: "I responded with bottles of Lambrusco and an equally sweet note", adding that he had "re-established relations with President Putin, a little too much."
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