MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th December, 2018) Gianmatteo Ferrari, a member of Italy's Lega party, told Sputnik on Tuesday that in his opinion the Italian government was unlikely to walk back from its plan on removing the EU sanctions against Russia despite Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte pledging to support the bloc's possible restrictive measures over the Kerch Strait incident.
Conte said earlier in the day, addressing the lower house of the Italian parliament, that Rome would share the position of the European Union regarding potential Moscow sanctions over the situation in the Kerch Strait, once it is formed. The prime minister noted that "the sanctions are not the goal in itself, but a tool for finding a solution to the Ukrainian conflict."
"I think Premier Conte only used conciliatory tones. I do not think that the current Italian government changes its mind about the fact that sanctions on Russia should be removed," Ferrari said, asked whether Italy could really change its position on the sanctions issue.
The politician underlined that Rome and Moscow should maintain friendly relations despite the sanctions regime.
"I think and I hope that this friendship will strengthen even more over time. Italy must be the nation through which the sanctions against Russia are removed. There are no other roads," Ferrari added.
After the incident, which occurred on November 25, when three Ukrainian ships were detained after illegally crossing Russian border, the Council of the European Union issued a declaration calling on all parties to the conflict to commit to restraint and de-escalation. No possible restrictive measures related to the conflict have been mentioned so far.
Relations between Moscow and the European Union deteriorated in 2014 after Crimea's reunification with Russia and amid the crisis in eastern Ukraine. Brussels has repeatedly imposed restrictive measures against Russian individuals, companies and economic sectors. Moscow has responded by imposing restrictions on food imports from the countries that supported the sanctions.
In late May, new Italian government outlined the need to lift the EU sanctions imposed on Russia in their government coalition agreement. Conte said in late October after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin that relations between Russia and Italy were in excellent state, adding that the EU sanctions against Moscow should be abolished.
