Italy reacts furiously to “odious and unacceptable” insults and threats by a senior Russian foreign ministry official attacking sanctions applied against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
Alexey Paramonov, head of the Russian foreign ministry’s European department, accused Italy of falling victim to “anti-Russian hysteria,” in comments to the state-run RIA Novosti agency. Italy forgot centuries-long relations and bilateral agreements “in a second,” he said.
Paramonov said Russia had provided “significant assistance” to Italy during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, at the request of Italy’s defense minister Lorenzo Guerini.
Italy’s foreign ministry says it “firmly rejects the threatening statements” from Moscow.
Rome and its partners will “continue to exert every pressure” to stop the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it adds.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi condemns the “comparison between the invasion of Ukraine and the pandemic crisis in Italy” as “particularly odious and unacceptable.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to address the Italian parliament on Tuesday.
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From the Liveblog of
Saturday, March 19, 2022
