Italian Businesses Believe In Russia, Increase Presence Despite Sanctions - Ambassador

(@FahadShabbir)

Italian Businesses Believe in Russia, Increase Presence Despite Sanctions - Ambassador

TRIESTE (Italy) (UrduPoint news / Sputnik - 21st September, 2018) Italian businesses trust Russia and are expanding presence in the country despite EU sanctions, Russian Ambassador to Italy Sergei Razov said on Friday.

Trade between Russia and Italy amounted to $54 billion in 2013, but plummeted after the introduction of sanctions and started to grow again in more recent years.

"In 2017, it increased to $24-25 billion, in the first quarter of 2018 it grew by 11 percent. We hope that there will be growth by the end of the year ... It means that the businesses of Russia and Italy see prospects of mutual cooperation and uses them. To the Italian businesses credit, those 500 companies that work in Russia, despite sanctions and political turbulence, remain in Russia, developing production, focusing on the Russian market and the market of third countries," Razov said at the Russian-Italian summit in the city of Trieste, organized by the Intesa bank.

The new Italian government, a coalition comprising the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the Eurosceptic Lega party, has consistently spoken in favor of lifting anti-Russia sanctions.

Nevertheless, the European Council decided on July 5 to extend restrictive measures against Moscow, introduced over Crimea's reunification with Russia and the latter's alleged involvement in the Ukraine conflict, for another six months � until January 31, 2019.