"This issue should be addressed at the level of heads of governments and heads of states, and it will be considered at the next meeting of the European Council," the envoy told RIA Novosti.
According to the envoy, Italy believes that such a complex and sensitive issue deserves a review and discussion rather than automatic prolongation of the sanctions.
Earlier in the day, a source close to the EU leadership told reporters that Brussels may take a decision to extend the economic sanctions against Russia before Catholic Christmas, but the issue had not been included in the agenda of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting to be held on Monday.
Relations between Russia and the European Union went downhill in 2014, when Brussels joined Washington in accusing Moscow of fueling the Ukrainian crisis, imposing several rounds of sanctions as a punitive measure.
The Russian authorities have refuted the allegations, warning that the Western sanctions are counterproductive. In response to the Western restrictive measures, Russia announced a one-year food embargo on products originating in states that imposed sanctions, in August 2014. The ban has since been extended for another year.
The European Union's economic sanctions against Russia are set to expire in January.
