Northern Italian Delegation to Visit Crimea in Fall to Promote Bilateral Ties

Stefano Valdegamberi, a lawmaker from the Veneto Regional Council stated that a delegation of lawmakers from northern Italian councils will visit different cities in Crimea and hold talks with the local authorities in autumn.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – A delegation bringing together lawmakers from northern Italian councils will visit Crimea in autumn in a bid to promote closer ties between the cities in Italy and the peninsula, a lawmaker from the Veneto Regional Council told Sputnik on Tuesday.

"We will visit different cities and hold talks with the Crimean authorities as we [are] keen on strengthening connections between some Italian and Crimean cities and improving ties with Crimea in the economic, cultural spheres and in the area of politics," Stefano Valdegamberi said.

According to Valdegamberi, the delegates will represent Italian regions of Veneto, Liguria, Lombardy, Toscana, Emilia-Romagna and, possibly, Piedmont. The delegation will bring together those lawmakers who approved a resolution urging working together towards lifting anti-Russia sanctions this summer.

"Those regions have been impacted the most by the sanctions," Valdegamberi stressed calling the anti-Russian sanctions absurd.

Crimea rejoined Russia in 2014, after an overwhelming majority of voters supported the historic reunification in a referendum. The West stated the vote was illegitimate and accused Russia in fueling the Ukrainian internal conflict, imposing sanctions on Moscow.

However, over 60 delegations from dozens of countries came to Russia’s southwestern Crimea region this year, defying Western restrictions, including those from France, Italy, Jordan and many other nations.