Vladimir Putin thanked the Italian Prime Minister for assisting a Russian girl named Vera Smolnikova who received a heart transplant in Italy.
Mr Putin also asked Mr Berlusconi to thank the team of doctors who operated on the girl and expressed admiration for the parents' strength and courage in authorising the use of their late son's heart to save a girl from Russia.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin also spoke by telephone to Irina, the mother of two-year-old Vera Smolnikova, and wished her daughter a speedy recovery.
The operation was performed several days ago at a clinic in Bergamo city under a federal quota allocated by the Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development.