Italian President Carlo Azeglio CiampiFriday thanked a group of American World War II veterans and said "we have not forgotten" the liberation of Rome in 1944, the local media reported Friday.

Ciampi said ahead of a meeting with visiting US President George W. Bush that "On the morning of that June 4 sixty years agothe entry of allied troops into the capital aroused relief and emotion. The First Special Force was greeted with a tide of enthusiasm by the city, which felt freed."

"More than half a century has passed but awareness of memory isan indispensable aid to face present challenges united," he added.

He stressed the importance of continuing the "debate, respect and solidarity that have marked 50 years of Italo-US relations, via multilateral institutions like NATO."

Source: Xinhua