Bush seemed rather bewildered. And this time he wasn't alone

They came, they signed and – as soon as decently possible – they jetted away from one of the most bizarre summits most will ever attend.

For slightly more than five hours yesterday the Italian military air base of Practica di Mare became an extraordinary and kitsch backdrop for the American President, George Bush, the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and 18 other leaders to conclude anaccord between Nato and Russia.

And, thanks to the host, Italy's Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, it was all in the worst possible taste.

For a jetlagged Mr Bush, who sometimes seems unsure which European country he is visiting, it must have been a bewildering experience. The flimsy stage-set for the signing ceremony was a Disney-style mock-up of a Roman amphitheatre, albeit one strewn with genuine antiquities. Mr Berlusconi had ordered statues to be brought from a museum in Naples. But what to make of the Aztec temple-style façade of the press theatre?

For Mr Putin, such a Potemkin village, built at a cost of €12m (£7.5m), might not have been unfamiliar. At 7pm, a huge truck was still dumping turf, which was being planted to green the site for the ceremony. It was, one Latvian journalist said, reminiscent of the old Soviet method of preparing for visiting dignitaries by painting the ground green.

Mr Berlusconi had offered to host the event in spite of the disaster that befell Genoa on the most recent occasion Italy staged a summit, when anti-globalisation protesters ripped up part of the city. This time, no chances were taken. The event was staged well away from Rome and with 15,000 soldiers and police present.

After worthy speeches proclaiming an end to the Cold War, Mr Putin attempted a joke, suggesting that, now there was a Nato-Russia Council, Nato headquarters should be named "the house of soviets" (in Russian "soviet" means "council"). A clearly baffled Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, the Nato secretary general, said: "I will declare that to be a joke in case it appears in the decision sheet."

If all this was a little surreal, it was nothing compared with the final press conference. So eager was Mr Berlusconi to get his word in that, at one point, he interrupted Mr Putin. "I have certainly done everything for this agreement to come about," the Italian premier said.

He also declared that Russia should "gradually" become a member of the EU, a policy some light years ahead of his European colleagues. Then, in a lengthy speech that left Nato officials open-mouthed, Mr Berlusconi announced his plans to relieve Third World poverty.

Finally, the architect of the Nato-Russia rapprochement and saviour of the Third World caused a mini-riot among photographers by pressing forward for an unscheduled photoshoot.

By this time President Bush had sensibly departed for an audience with the Pope, while Tony Blair was on his way back to Downing Street – only five hours after he arrived.