Rome, April 27 (Inditop.com/AKI) Russia and Italy have agreed to set up a new nuclear plant in Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave situated between Poland and Lithuania, around 320 km from the mainland.

This was discussed Monday during talks held between Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Lesmo in Monza province.

Executives from Italian power company Enel and Russian energy company Inter RAO signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on future projects including the nuclear plant.

Berlusconi said he had renewed his “esteem, affection and friendship” for the Russian prime minister.

“It is always a great pleasure to talk to him about international political issues. He is always perfectly informed on issues in Europe and around the world,” he said.

Berlusconi, however, said that trade between the two countries has fallen by 30 percent because of the economic crisis.

“Prime minister Putin and I want that to return to levels of 2008,” Berlusconi said.