Silvio Berlusconi is set to desert his own party's annual conference because he wants to fly to Russia to attend Vladimir Putin’s birthday celebrations, according to multiple reports in Italian media.



The former Italian prime minister is scheduled to speak at a Forza Italia conference in Milan this weekend, but has decided he’d rather accept the Russian president's invitation to celebrate his 66th birthday in Sochi, the press reports claim, citing (political) party sources.

Putin and Berlusconi’s friendship spans back more than a decade. Last year, Berlusconi gave the Russian president a duvet with their faces on it for his 65th birthday.