Russia on Friday rejected “outlandish” accusations of meddling in Italy’s political affairs after Matteo Salvini, the leader of Italy’s far-right League party, was called to account for contacts between the Russian embassy and his entourage, against a backdrop of the crisis that led to the downfall of Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
“It is strange to see that the political class and the Italian media (…) have begun to be guided by external factors and imitate their worst practices and models in terms of election campaigns”, resorting to “the trivial myth of involvement of Moscow in the electoral processes”, commented the representative of the Russian diplomacy Maria Zakharova.
For Russia, “Italy is a sovereign country that exercises an independent domestic and foreign policy,” he added in a statement uploaded to the Telegram platform.
That is why “relations between Russia and Italy have always been characterized by pragmatism, understanding and mutual respect,” Ms. Zakharova added.
The national unity government under Mario Draghi fell on July 14 after the Lega (far right), Forza Italia (right) and the 5 Star Movement (populists) refused to participate in the confidence vote in the government in the Italian parliament.
The day before Thursday, Turin’s centre-right La Stampa newspaper reported that a diplomat from the Russian embassy met in late May in Rome with a close associate of Mr Salvini, with whom they discussed the political situation.
The meeting took place while Mr. Salvini faced accusations of conducting parallel diplomacy with the Russian embassy, ​​ostensibly to draw up a Moscow-Kiev peace plan, without the knowledge of the Italian government.
Several in Italy demanded an explanation from Mr Salvini after the Stampa publication.
Relations between Matteo Salvini and Russia have often been contentious, especially since the start of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine in late February. The issue is likely to become a headache for his party and its allies, Forza Italia and the far-right Brotherhood of Italy, in the campaign ahead of the September 25 parliamentary election.
Source: Capital
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