ROME -- After sparking outrage by declaring that Western civilization is superior to Islamic culture, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi told parliament on Friday that he was misunderstood and apologized to those who felt offended.
NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson played down Berlusconi's remarks and said the flap would not jeopardize the formation of an international coalition against terrorism sought by the United States.
"I am sorry that words that have been misunderstood have offended the sensitivities of my Arab and Muslim friends," Berlusconi told senators. "We are aware of the crucial role of moderate Arab countries" in the fight against terrorism.
"Those who see an enemy in freedom of religion and cultural diversity are themselves our enemies," he said. "We must be proud of the values we believe in: tolerance, pluralism, political and economic freedoms, freedom of religion, universal suffrage."
The premier is scheduled to meet Arab ambassadors in Rome on Tuesday.
Earlier, his office said Berlusconi had had a phone conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in which the Italian leader called the fight against terrorism "a global fight ... without any distinction of religion or culture."
On Wednesday, while in Berlin to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, Berlusconi said Western civilization was superior because it guarantees respect for human, political and religious rights.
He added that he hoped "the West will continue to conquer peoples, like it conquered communism."
European leaders had quickly condemned Berlusconi's comments, which came as the West is trying to gather Arab and Muslim nations in a coalition against terrorism after the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Amr Moussa, secretary general of the 22-nation Arab League, said Thursday that he was "waiting for either a denial or an apology" from the Italian government.
A spokesman for Schroeder asked Friday for a clarification. "We're against any kind of discrimination or lumping together," Uwe-Kasten Heye said. "If anything is needed, it's for the Italian prime minister to say exactly what he meant."
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