Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has a history of making impolitic remarks.
On Thursday he made another, describing U.S. president-elect Barack Obama as `young, handsome and even tanned.'
Berlusconi appeared to be joking about America's first black president when he made the remark at a news conference following talks with Russia's president.
Berlusconi was being asked by a reporter about the prospect for U.S.-Russian relations, given that they have plummeted to Cold War-levels in recent months.
Berlusconi said the relative youth of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, 43, and Obama, 47, should make it easier for Moscow and Washington to work together.
Then he said, smiling: `I told the president that (Obama) has everything needed in order to reach deal with him: he's young, handsome and even tanned.'
