After "suntanned" quip, Berlusconi sports Obama watch

European Union FlagBrussels - Weeks after causing an uproar by describing Barack Obama as "suntanned," Silvio Berlusconi arrived in Brussels on Thursday sporting a watch featuring the president-elect's face.

"I shan't wear it, I just brought it to make my colleagues laugh," Berlusconi was quoted by the Italian media as saying.

The maverick premier had refused to apologize for his quip at a special EU summit on the global financial crisis in November, insisting instead that he had meant to pay Obama a compliment.

The watch, blue with white stars, was in all likelihood a gadget distributed by the Obama election campaign team.

It did not prevent him from arriving at Thursday's EU summit five minutes late. dpa

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