Italian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aldo Amati talked to VK about how today the official Italian leadership sees its relations with Russia both bilaterally and in an international perspective. Primarily, Amati stressed that the working visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Italy, which took place on November 25-26, will strengthen bilateral relations and establish closer personal contacts between the leaders of the two countries, culminating in the signing of important agreements.
The press secretary of the Italian Foreign Ministry said that Italy is one of the few EU countries making efforts to facilitate the visa regime between Russia and the EU. "Both Russia and the EU are very interested in continuing the dialogue, avoiding conflicts and finding common ground on energy issues. I believe that Russia is part of Europe, and therefore we need to compromise on the main items on the agenda. We must be open to negotiation, and Italy is making every effort to make our European partners regard our continent as a single global player," he said.
One of the most pressing international issues on which Russia and Italy are today in solidarity is in settling the Syrian conflict. "FMs Emma Bonino and Sergei Lavrov in the last two months have met three or four times, and we share a view on the conflict in Syria, which should be resolved by peaceful political means. Italy is pleased that the Geneva-2 conference arrives at a final date -January 22 - and hopes that the international community will be able to find a way to stop the fighting and open the way for humanitarian assistance," Amati said.
"Russia, together with the United States, has played a pivotal role in the destruction of chemical weapons in Syria, and it was a huge achievement for the international community. Today we need to take another step forward - to end the civil war. And Russia is doing a lot for this, together with such important regional players as the UN and the United States, in arranging Geneva -2. The Syrian opposition is extremely fragmented, and the convening of representatives of all groups of Syrian society is a difficult task,” the Italian Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
Amati mentioned other issues on the international agenda, in which the positions of Russia and Italy are similar. "Together with Russia, we also support a new dialogue with Tehran and negotiations of "the group of six" on the Iranian nuclear dossier. We must guarantee peace in the Middle East, and for this we must make sure that the Islamic republic's nuclear program will be developed only for civilian purposes. In the future I see a new character of cooperation between Russia and Italy in the Mediterranean region, which today is undergoing dramatic changes. Also, political cooperation within the UN between the two countries has always been constructive," he added.
