Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has said the US bears some blame for the killing of an Italian agent, but it will not hurt relations. He told parliament that the US had implicitly acknowledged some problems at the checkpoint where US forces shot dead Nicola Calipari in March.US and Italian reports differed sharply on the events leading up to the killing, which caused outrage in Italy. But Mr Berlusconi said Italy remained Washington's close friend and ally. "Our friendship with the US has overcome more difficult tests than this one," he said, addressing both houses of parliament. He said Italy had no intention of rushing troops out of Iraq before their job was done.
His comments, seeking to ease domestic tension over Iraq while reassuring a strong ally, came a day after US President George W Bush called him to repeat his regrets over what had happened.
Observers have said that the failure to agree on the sequence of events has tarnished the close relationship between the two countries, a claim dismissed by Mr Berlusconi. "The friendship and loyalty of the Italian government towards the US - based on the immutable foundations of democracy and freedom - is beyond discussion," he said.
Despite increasing opposition to Italian involvement in Iraq and calls to withdraw the country's 3,000 troops, Mr Berlusconi said that pulling troops out was not an option. "There is no reason to say 'Let's all go home' - it would be incomprehensible."