'Russia Remains Committed Partner of Italy' Despite Difficulties

Russia has always been and continues to be a reliable partner of Italy even despite the difficulties that had negatively affected the bilateral relations, Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Alfano is currently visiting Moscow at the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

"Russia always has been and remains a committed partner of Italy. Our countries share a common history, our relationship went through trials, nevertheless, we were able to maintain excellent relations. If we recall, our first agreements in the energy sphere were signed in difficult times, and even then, Russia was considered to be a reliable partner, as Italy — a reliable partner of Russia," Alfano said at the talks with Lavrov.

The minister added that he hoped the meetings in Moscow would "help build confidence and trust" between the countries.

The cooperation between the two states, including in the energy sphere, continued even after the deterioration of relations between Moscow and the European Union following the Ukrainian crisis. Russia's energy giant Gazprom and Italy's Eni company, for instance, kept their cooperation on European gas market. Earlier in March, Gazprom signed a memorandum of understanding with Eni on the development of Russian gas supplies to European states along a southern delivery corridor.