The Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, has said the shooting dead last March of an Italian intelligence agent by US soldiers will not hurt Rome's ties with Washington.
Mr Berlusconi also said Italy had no intention of speeding up the withdrawal of its troops from Iraq.
Agent Nicola Calipari was shot at a US military checkpoint near Baghdad Airport on 4 March as he escorted a released Italian hostage, journalist Giuliana Sgrena, to freedom.
Italy has blamed the inexperience of the US soldiers manning the checkpoint, but a US report exonerated them.
