... established and has made it possible to restore half of the trade that was lost following 2013. But the threat of default, and the risk of being left alone to cope with ships coming in from Africa, are very real.
A sovereign yet unemployed and starving Italy is unlikely to think first and foremost about sanctions against Russia.
What Does This Mean for Russia?
For Russia, this means that there is no need to shout about the conflict that is brewing between Italy and the European Union any louder than the Italians are themselves. The temptation to support a friendly country ...
... showed that both Paris and Berlin want to keep the doors open for cooperation with Russia.
The Italian cautious approach is very much in line with the double track diplomacy... ... of force in Syria asking a peaceful solution under UN auspices. On the other hand, Italy is aware that the only way to reach a sustainable peace in the Middle East (as... ... engaged rather than further isolate it. For this reason, Renzi is not sure that new sanctions would make a peace settlement in Syria easier to reach.
Although sanctions...
... to its undisputable membership in the EU, the role of Italy against sanctions is very linked to the success or failure of Minsk agreements: as long as there will be an evident lack of implementation, the Italian government cannot create a real anti-sanctions coalition inside the Union. In order to help Russia, Italy needs to bring to Brussels the proofs of a concrete improvement in the Ukrainian scenario. However, this can be decided only by Ukrainian actors: it is time for the EU, the USA and Russia to increase their pressure on Kiev and Donbas and work in ...
... level?
Personally, I don’t think that sanctions have destroyed the long-standing relationship of trust between the Italians and Russians. Businessmen from both countries only hope that the situation in Ukraine will gradually normalize and that sanctions will be lifted as soon as early 2016.
Despite tensions between the EU and Russia, Italy is trying to maintain friendly relations with Russia also at a political level. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has always showed a willingness to maintain a dialogue with Russia. He was the first EU leader to visit President Putin.
In addition,...
... on the actual catastrophic consequences of the sanctions on Italy, the reason of this choice resides in the status of this country as one of the former leading economic partner of Russia in Europe, second only to Germany.
Since the enforcing of the sanctions in the first quarter of 2014 the trade of goods between Russia and Italy has dropped just shy of one third reaching the value 32%. Let's broke down this data. The starting round of sanctions did not call for extremely aggressive measures, yet those were serious enough to cause a net loss in the Italian-Russian ...
