Moscow-Rome: from energy to cinema

This week, in Kremlin, Vladimir Putin met with the chairman of the Council of Ministers of Italy, Giuseppe Conte, who came with an official visit to Russia. They discussed the situation in Syria and Libya, cooperation in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which Italy chairs this year. Conte said that he came to Moscow to study ”the possibilities of the development of our cooperation and relations.”

According to Putin, Italy has somewhat lost its position in the Russian market as an economic partner, however, the volume of trade and economic relations remains very high. Italy is now ranked 6th in terms of turnover in the Russian Federation. In 2017, the mutual trade increased by 21% to $ 24 billion; in January – August of this year, another 15 percent were added. The volume of direct investment from Italy is about $ 5 billion. About 500 Italian companies are represented on the Russian market. Many of them have their own production on the territory of Russia; they seek to increase industrial cooperation, to create industrial alliances. The Made with Italy brand is gaining popularity in Russia.

Putin and Conte met with the representatives of the business community and opened a plant for the production of high-voltage AC motors and generators in the Stankomash industrial park in Chelyabinsk, which will provide a full localization of production in Russia. The volume of production will be up to 300 units of the electric motors per year. They will be used primarily for pumping units of main oil pipelines. This innovative full-cycle enterprise is built on Italian technology and will produce the high-voltage electrical power units that meet advanced standards of energy efficiency and safety. The project was the result of the partnership of the Russian companies Transneft and Konar with the world leader in the field of industrial energy systems - the Italian company Nidec. The engines are supposed to be used primarily in the field of oil pumping and petroleum products production. They are in demand by the domestic fuel and energy complex and will no doubt be in demand in the markets of the third countries. In the future, the electric motors are planned to be installed on the Arctic class vessels for the Northern Sea Route and used at the natural gas liquefaction lines at the Arctic LNG-2, Baltic LNG, Vladivostok LNG projects, for the needs of the metallurgical and mining sector, the railway transport and wind generation. The new enterprise became the 5th with the Italian participation on the territory of the Chelyabinsk industrial park Stankomash. In fact, Italians helped to create a whole industrial cluster, where the important high-tech industries are located.

Meanwhile, Italy remains the second West European consumer of Russian gas after Germany. Moreover, cooperation in the energy sector is not limited to the fuel supplies - the Russian oil and gas companies Rosneft, NOVATEK, LUKOIL and the Italian ENI are developing the hydrocarbon fields. Concern Maire Tecnimont is involved in the construction of the Amur Gas Processing Plant, the second largest in the world. This enterprise will become Russia's largest gas processing facility and one of the key industrial infrastructure facilities being built around the Power of Siberia gas pipeline for supplying blue fuel to China.

As Xinhua writes in the article Italy, Russia add new chapter to history with visit by Conte, the long history between Italy and Russia added a new chapter Wednesday when Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for the first time, vowing to strengthen trade ties. Since 2014, Western countries including the United States and the EU have imposed a range of economic sanctions on Russia. Since the Conte government was installed on June 1, Italy has been the leading European Union voice calling for the sanctions to be lifted.

A week ago, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini made his own trip to Moscow, where he called the current sanctions "madness." On his visit, Conte took a more nuanced view, saying that, "For Italy, sanctions are never an end, but instead an instrument that must be overcome as soon as possible." Conte did not say whether Italy would use its veto power to block the sanctions, which must be renewed.

According to Andrea Giannotti, a historian specializing in Italy-Russia ties at both Italy's University of Pisa and at the Moscow State Institute for International Relations, Italy finds itself in a difficult position on the topic of Russian ties with Europe. "Italy really has two priorities," Giannotti told Xinhua. "One is the European Union and the Atlantic alliance, and the other involves its long historical ties with Russia." Giannotti said ties between the two territories dates to the 13th century.

The strong ties continued until modern times. According to Eleonora Tafuro, a researcher focusing on Russia for the Italian Institute for International Political Studies, Italian carmaker Fiat was among the first major companies to start production in the USSR when it opened a factory in Tolyatti in 1970.

Starting in the 1990s, former Italian prime ministers Silvio Berlusconi and Romani Prodi both visited Russia and prioritized the ties between the countries. Today, despite the sanctions Italy gets nearly half its energy from Russian sources, Tafuro said in an interview. "It is not a surprise Italy has been an advocate for Russia in the European Union," Tafuro said. "The ties are so deep and varied, whether it's through classical music or energy or political interests. It's a very important factor."

In confirmation of her words, after the talks, Putin and Conte watched the new Russian-Italian film ‘Sin’, directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, telling about several years of life of the Italian artist, sculptor Michelangelo, when, in particular, he was painting the Sistine Chapel and creating the sculpture of David in Florence.