MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The talks with Italian President Sergio Mattarella took place in a constructive atmosphere and focused on topical issues in bilateral Russian-Italian relations, including the cooperation in the energy field, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday.
"The talks with Italian President Sergio Mattarella have concluded, they have been held in the constructive atmosphere, an interesting and substantial discussion on the whole range of topical issues of the Russian-Italian cooperation and the perspectives for further development took place," Putin said, commenting on the outcomes of the meeting with his Italian counterpart.
Putin said that during the meeting the two sides also discussed the cooperation in the energy field.
"We, of course, have discussed with the Italian president the strategic cooperation in the energy sector. Reliable deliveries of natural gas from Russia provide 43 percent of the Italian economy's fuel demand," the Russian president said.
Mattarella met with Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow on Tuesday to discuss the key issues of Russian-Italian relations with an emphasis on trade-economic, investment and cultural-humanitarian cooperation, as well as joint projects in the energy industry, transport and other areas.
"It was noted that today's main threat to global security stems from terrorism, which can only be overcome by combining the efforts of the international community," Putin added.
Putin also said he discussed with Mattarella the situation in Syria and Ukraine, as well as peace in the Middle East.
"We talked about Syria and mentioned, of course, other problematic locations, including the Ukrainian issue," Putin said adding that the ways to achieve peace in the Middle East were discussed in the context of fight against terrorism.
Mattarella, in turn, urged Putin to use Russia's influence to enhance the ceasefire in Donbass.
