Premier Matteo Renzi will
attend the funeral of former Israeli president Shimon Peres in
Jerusalem on Friday, sources said on Thursday.
As a result, the premier's planned engagements in Genoa
and Turin have been cancelled.
Renzi remembered Peres as a "great man of peace" following
his death early on Wednesday at the age of 93.
"Shimon Peres, a great of our time, a man of peace",
tweeted Renzi.
The premier remembered the Nobel Peace Prize winner as a
"great friend of Italy" and said he had met him on September 2
at the Ambrosetti Forum, an annual international economic
conference held at Villa d'Este in the northern town of
Cernobbio on the shores of Lake Como. "We all remember him with
affection and gratitude, the Italian people (are) very close to
the Israelis", said the premier. "He is one of those figures who
are worth twice as much", he told Rtl 102.5 radio later on
Wednesday.
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