“We see that goods turnover between Russia and Italy has dropped by 16 percent. Yesterday, I met with representatives from the Italian business community that is operating in Russia, here in Moscow, and I was once again convinced that they plan to continue working in Russia and to invest [in Russia], including in the infrastructure of projects that Russia is realizing,” Gentiloni said during a joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.
Gentiloni said that it is clear that there are difficulties “but it is equally clear that the new situation creates new possibilities taking into account the policies that Russia is conducting on the diversification of the economy and on developing its national economy.”
Disagreements over the situation in Ukraine should not lead to freezing of relations between Russia and the European Union, Paolo Gentiloni said.
Speaking at a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Gentiloni stated that Italian authorities have been open about their disagreements with Russia, including in regard to the happenings in Ukraine.
"But we never believed and we do not believe that such differences should lead to freezing [of relations] between Italy, Europe and Russia. It is not in the interests of either side," Gentiloni said.
