US President George W. Bush Wednesday called Italian Prime Minister George W. Bush to renew his condolences for Italian agent who was killed in a "friendly fire" by US troop in Iraq.

During a long and friendly telephone conversation, Bush told the prime minister that Calipari was a "heroic servant of Italy" and an "esteemed friend" of the US, a statement by the prime minister office said.

Bush's call came a day after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini said that disagreements over the March 4 death of Nicola Calipari would not dent relations between the two nations.

The statement said Bush and Berlusconi also discussed developments in Iraq, reaffirming their commitment to help the Iraqi government and people in their efforts to reconstruct a stable, free and democratic country.

During a phone call on Tuesday Rice expressed her regret that ajoint Italian-American enquiry into the "friendly fire" incident had failed to reach conclusions agreed by both sides.

Both she and Fini reiterated that the episode has not and will not call into question the longstanding ties, based on shared values, between Italy and the US.

Calipari was killed on March 4 as he, another agent and a just-released hostage drove towards Baghdad airport.

Italian and American military experts who took part in a joint probe to establish the dynamics of the incident failed to agree ona number of points.

The US report cleared the soldiers of any blame, while the Italians said the American soldiers probably opened fire because they were under stress and inexperienced. It stated clearly however that the incident was unintentional.

Berlusconi is scheduled to address parliament on the shooting Thursday.

Source: Xinhua