Bush to visit Italy to mark Allied liberation
US President George W. Bush will visit Italy on June 4 on the 60th anniversary of the Allied liberation of Rome during World War II, the Italian foreign minister said today.
Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, speaking at the sidelines of a media conference, confirmed local reports that Bush would be in Italy shortly before his trip to France to mark the anniversary of the Normandy landings.
“We will welcome President Bush as the president of a great friendly country, right on the day when we celebrate the anniversary of the liberation of Rome, which was owed to the American forces and in which many American soldiers lost their lives,” Frattini said. “We will never forget this gesture.”
The White House has said Bush will meet with French President Jacques Chirac in Paris on June 5, before participating in ceremonies the following day to mark the Normandy landing.
The Bush administration has a close relationship with the government of Premier Silvio Berlusconi, which has been a steadfast supporter of the US-led coalition in Iraq. Italy is the third-largest contributor of troops in Iraq, after America and Britain, with about 3,000 soldiers working on reconstruction.
