Italy supports Ukraine, doesn't back lifting of anti-Russian sanctions

The Italian parliament's Chamber of Deputies on August 3 passed a resolution urging the full implementation of the Minsk agreements on Donbas to ensure the stability of the Ukrainian state, according to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Italy Yevhen Perelygin.

"The Italian Parliament, in its resolution titled 'Directions of European and Italian Foreign Policy in the Context of Recent Developments in the World,' recommends that the country's government take measures to ensure the implementation of the Minsk agreements, which should become a major prerequisite for the possible restoration of normal economic relations between Italy and the Russian Federation," the ambassador wrote on Facebook on Thursday, August 4.

He stressed that the resolution had received the support of members of the Democratic Party, the New Centre-Right Party and individual members of the Mixed Group. The members of the Chamber of Deputies did not, however, support a draft resolution drawn up by the opposition political force, Five Star Movement, which called for the government of Italy to "immediately lift sanctions against Russia." As UNIAN reported earlier, Italy has demanded Brussels' agreement to review its policy towards Russia before the end of 2016 be included in the conclusions of the European Union (EU) summit on June 28-29. On June 21, the EU approved the extension of economic sanctions against Russia for another six months for its actions in Ukraine. The sanctions will be in effect until January 31, 2017. This decision should finally be adopted by the Council of the European Union.

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