Lavrov regrets slowdown in Russia-Italy cooperation
MOSCOW. March 4 (Interfax) - The crisis in Russia-EU relations has had a negative impact on Russian-Italian relations but Moscow welcomes the readiness of Italian business to continue working on the Russian market, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.
"Unfortunately, in the context of a deep drop in relations between Russia and the European Union in relation to the domestic crisis in Ukraine the dynamics of Russian-Italian cooperation has slowed down significantly," Lavrov's commentary on the ministerial website says.
"Important events were cancelled, including top-level ones, the volume of bilateral trade contacted by 10% last year compared to 2013 to $48.4 billion, a tendency to the decline in tourist exchanges appeared," Lavrov said.
"I am convinced that such a state of affairs does not meet the vital interests of our countries," he stressed.
Lavrov said that Russia "appreciates Italy's determination to contribute to the improvement of the situation on the European continent and the normalization of Russia-EU relations, Rome's adherence to the peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian domestic crisis."
"We welcome the readiness of Italian business to continue working on the Russian market despite the complex situation," Lavrov said.
He said Moscow hopes for a fruitful discussion of several questions of interest to Moscow and Rome during the upcoming visit of Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to Russia.
"We expect that there will be a constructive and fruitful conversation typical of Russian-Italian relations on topical issues of the international and bilateral agendas of interest to our countries," Lavrov added.