Trade between Russia and Italy in 2019 may amount to about $25 billion, which is almost two times less than its peak value just before sanctions were imposed over the Ukrainian crisis, Russian Ambassador in Rome Sergey Razov said on Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st November, 2019) Trade between Russia and Italy in 2019 may amount to about $25 billion, which is almost two times less than its peak value just before sanctions were imposed over the Ukrainian crisis, Russian Ambassador in Rome Sergey Razov said on Thursday.
"According to the association of Italian agriculture producers, from 2014 to 2018 the Italian exports of these products to Russia decreased by over 3 billion Euros [$3.3 billion]. Look at the general value of Russian-Italian trade. Its record level was reached in 2013 � $54 billion. This year, according to available estimates, it could be about $25 billion," Razov told Russian magazine International Affairs in an interview.
According to him, sanctions against Russia and response measures are not the only reasons for such a significant decrease in trade.
Such factors as a slowdown of the global economy and a sharp drop of prices for hydrocarbons over the past five years, which make up about 80 percent of Russia's exports to Italy, play a certain role, the diplomat added.
Russia's economic and political relations with the West, including Italy, deteriorated in 2014 over the crisis in Ukraine and Crimea's decision to rejoin Russia. The West, accusing Moscow of meddling in Ukrainian affairs, imposed sanctions on Russia. While repeatedly denying the accusations, Russia introduced a food embargo on the states that targeted it with restrictive measures.
