Putin holds a minute's silence for Italy's Berlusconi at flagship event

FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Italian Member of the European Parliament Silvio Berlusconi at an airport in Rome, Italy July 4, 2019. Sputnik/Alexey Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS/ File photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday asked the audience at an economic forum in St Petersburg to hold a minute's silence in honour of former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi who died on Monday aged 86.

Putin, who said in a message of condolence earlier this week that he regarded Berlusconi as a dear friend and an outstanding politician, told the audience: