Anti-Russian Sanctions Cannot Be 'New Norm' - Italian Ambassador In Moscow

Sanctions and their impact on the economic relations between Russia and EU member states cannot be a "new normal," Italian Ambassador to Russia Pasquale Terracciano said on Wednesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th April, 2019) Sanctions and their impact on the economic relations between Russia and EU member states cannot be a "new normal," Italian Ambassador to Russia Pasquale Terracciano said on Wednesday.

"We firmly believe and tirelessly declare this at all international platforms where these issues are discussed that sanctions and the way they affect Russian economic relations with individual EU member states cannot be a 'new normal' of our relations," the ambassador said during a roundtable in the Russian Federation Council.

Terracciano noted that the sanctions were not an end in itself in relations between Russia and the West.

Since 2014, when the Ukrainian crisis erupted and Crimea rejoined Russia as a result of a referendum, the United States and other western countries have introduced several rounds of sanctions against Moscow, claiming it had a role in the conflict and opposing the reunification. Russia denied its involvement in the Ukrainian conflict and insisted that the Crimean referendum was carried out in line with international norms. Moreover, Moscow responded by introducing an embargo on food products originating from the countries that targeted it with sanctions.