ROME (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th April, 2020) Members of the Leo Tolstory independent cultural association based in the Italian city of Murazzano, located in the northern province of Lombardy, proposed to build a monument in honor of the Russian soldiers and doctors who provided assistance to Italy during the coronavirus pandemic, Marco Baratto, the coordinator of the association, has said.
Since March, the Russian military has sent 15 aircraft and dozens of specialists to Italy, the European nation most affected by COVID-19, along with disinfection and diagnostic equipment. Russian specialists have also helped their Italian colleagues with the construction of a field hospital in the city of Bergamo.
"We want to thank the military of Russia, which is fighting the invisible and dangerous enemy during a state of emergency, we want to thank them. When the victory over coronavirus is won, it will be important to remember those who have provided it, including the Russian military and the doctors who came to help us. We believe that a monument in honor of these courageous people should be built here, in the Lombardy region, where your [Russia's] experts are helping the elderly at the moment, where they are disinfecting many nursing homes," Baratto told Sputnik.
According to Baratto, his association also intends to send special parchment certificates to the Russian consulate-general in Milan as a show of gratitude. He added that the monument honoring Russian soldiers should be built in Bergamo.
The head of the cultural association further mentioned that Moscow's aid to Rome was free of charge, and that Russia had asked for nothing in return. He suggested that the European Union should cooperate with Russia and wished that the sanctions against Moscow would be lifted soon.
Italy has the highest COVID-19 death toll in the world � 15,887 people.
