In a blow to Ukraine, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has further distanced Rome from the European Union, the 28-nation alliance, and the G7, the group of the largest industrial democracies, by saying that European sanctions on Moscow should be lifted as he hailed Russia as a vital “strategic partner” for Italy.
The Italian prime minister affirmed his government’s support for Russia as he visited Moscow on Oct. 24 to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other top officials to discuss trade, economic ties and the lifting of European sanctions.
The talks in Moscow came only three days after Putin announced new sanctions on what he called “unfriendly Ukraine” that will ban the import of certain Ukrainian goods to Russia.
Conte has said his government is in favor of sanctions being lifted from Russia and confirmed that Rome will oppose the extension of any EU sanctions after they expire in January 2019, although he didn’t go as far as to say that Italy would veto new measures.
Italy, a member of the G7 and the fourth largest contributor to the EU’s budget – third largest, after Brexit – is a powerful voice in European decision-making.
Italy is currently the only G7 country that openly supports Russia. Although U.S. President Donald Trump previously said he would consider lifting sanctions on Moscow, he actually did the opposite when faced with mounting pressure over election interference.
Economic ties and diplomatic relations between Ukraine, its Western allies and Russia have been tense since 2014, when Russian regular forces and Kremlin-backed proxies annexed Crimea and invaded eastern Ukraine. Russia was sanctioned by most Western countries and kicked out of the G8 group of nations for its aggression towards Ukraine, which has killed more than 10,400 Ukrainians.
But last week, Matteo Salvini – Italy’s pro-Russian deputy prime minister and interior minister, who is widely regarded as the most powerful Italian lawmaker – told reporters in Moscow that he felt more at home in Russia than in many parts of Europe.
“The [EU] sanctions on Russia are a social, cultural and economic absurdity,” he said, committing himself and his government to having European sanctions on Russia lifted.
“If Salvini feels so at home in Moscow and in bed with Putin, why doesn’t he stay there?” responded Guy Verhofstadt, former Belgian Prime Minister and now a Member of European Parliament. “He is betraying the collective European interest,” Verhofstadt added.
Salvini has also courted controversy by saying that Crimea is rightly Russian and the 2014 Euromaidan Revolution that forced the Kremlin-backed strongman president Viktor Yanukovych from power was a CIA-orchestrated “fake”.
Trade between Italy and Russia is growing, with Russia having this year become Italy’s sixth-largest trading partner.
Far-right, Euroskeptic lawmakers in Italy – in power since June 2018 when they formed a coalition government – increasingly see the Russian Federation as a lost opportunity to fix the country’s economic woes.
According to some politicians in government with Conte and Salvini, EU sanctions on Russia lose the Italian economy about 7 billion euros annually, although these figures have been disputed by some observers.
While Conte mobilizes Italian strength in support for Russia, his deputy Salvini could soon be making a move on Brussels high office.
According to speculation in Italian newspapers, Salvini could be preparing to leave his ministerial post in Rome to run for the presidency of the EU Commission.
“It’s true, friends from several European countries are asking me to run [for the EU presidency],” he admitted to the left-leaning Italian newspaper La Repubblica, earlier this month.
