Italy's Berlusconi rubs shoulders with Putin in Crimea

Russian President Vladimir Putin (4th L), former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi (2nd L), Governor of Sevastopol Sergei Menyailo (3rd L) and Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov (L) listen to explanations as they visit a monument to soldiers of the Kingdom of Sardinia, killed during the Crimean War, near Mount Gasfort in Crimea, September 11, 2015. REUTERS/Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti/Kremlin

YALTA, Crimea (Reuters) - Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi became the most prominent Western politician to visit Russian-annexed Crimea when he strolled beside the Black Sea on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Western visitors have been rare since Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014. The takeover drove relations between Moscow and the West to their lowest point since the Cold War era, and prompted the United States and European Union to slap economic sanctions on Russia.