Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi in the southern resort of Sochi on Tuesday for talks on developing energy and other economic links between the two countries.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Prodi following their meeting, Putin praised Russia-Italy ties, saying the two countries are not just increasing trade but also exploring "new spheres of interaction and new projects."

"Our cooperation is increasingly efficient in spheres sensitive and important for the whole of Europe, including energy," he was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying.

Bilateral trade grew by 28 percent to about 30 billion U.S. dollars last year, Putin said. He also singled out aerospace, military-technical and telecommunication projects as priorities in bilateral cooperation.

"Naturally, there are considerable prospects in fuel and energy," he said. "Recent agreements on Russian energy exports to Italy will reinforce security guarantees for suppliers and buyers," he said.

Prodi's trip to the resort on the Russian Black Sea coast came on the heels of a visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, during which Putin said Russia is open to dialogue with the European Union (EU) over energy supplies based on mutual respect for interests.

Russia provides about a quarter of the oil and gas consumed in the EU.

Prodi, quoted by the Interfax news agency, said: "There is an enormous energy linking Russia with Europe and Russia with Italy."

The Italian leader said power engineering could become the backbone of cooperation and that the EU should become a trusted and major partner of Russia.

Source: Xinhua