Italy agrees to take 3 Guantanamo detainees

Washington: Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi sought to restore some shine to his tattered international image, agreeing to take three detainees from Guantanamo Bay and praising President Barack Obama as a steady leader with "deep knowledge" following a long meeting at the White House.

The two leaders and members of their staffs talked Monday for more than two hours double the time that had been expected on topics ranging from Guantanamo to the agenda for the July summit of the Group of Eight leading industrial nations in L'Aquila, the Apennine mountain town that was devastated by an earthquake this spring.

Speaking at the end of the Oval Office meeting, Obama praised Berlusconi and said he was "extremely grateful for his friendship." In turn, the 72-year-old Berlusconi lauded the young US president "for his deep knowledge and precision and accuracy with which he discusses all of the issues."

The meeting was an opportunity for Berlusconi to rehabilitate his reputation after a scandal over his link to an 18-year-old model which he maintains was not improper earned him world-wide condemnation. Striking up a public friendship with the young, popular US president and strengthening Italy's ties to America was one of his goals.