Russian President Vladimir Putin was due to participate on Wednesday January 26 by video in a meeting with bosses of large Italian companies, in the midst of the Ukrainian crisis, leading Rome to ask those in which the Italian state is a capital to give up.
Read alsoCrisis between Russia and Ukraine: what is happening?
This virtual meeting between the head of the Kremlin and leaders of large groups on the peninsula invited by the Italo-Russian Chamber of Commerce has caused embarrassment in Rome, while tension is at its height between Moscow and the Western powers, which brandished the threat of sanctions if Russia attacked Ukraine. Among the companies invited are the energy giants Eni and Enel, the tire manufacturer Pirelli, but also the banks UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo and the insurer Generali.
Mario Draghi's government has decided to step up and ask the companies in which the state is a shareholder, Eni and Enel, not to participate, according to an employer source. The Eni group has given up participating, one of its spokespersons told AFP on Wednesday. Enel, on the other hand, confirmed its participation, as did the insurer Generali as well as Pirelli, which co-organized the event. According to Italian media, the Italian bosses attending the meeting from two separate locations in Rome and Milan were asked to leave their mobile phones outside, in order to prevent them from recording the exchanges. A government spokesperson, contacted by AFP, provided these details: "
This is
a meeting of a private nature and no member of the Italian government will take part in it ".
“Opportunity for factual dialogue without political discourse”
The purpose of this meeting was "
to discuss topical issues of trade, economic and investment cooperation between Russia and Italy, as well as the prospects for further expansion of business relations between entrepreneurs of the two countries
", explained the Kremlin on Tuesday in a press release.
“
Special attention should be given to possibilities of strengthening cooperation in the field of energy, industry, finance and environmentally friendly technologies
,” he said.
The meeting, announced in November, was intended as “
an opportunity for factual dialogue without political discourse
”, also argued on January 17 the president of the Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce Vincenzo Trani in a press release. Half a thousand Italian companies are established in Russia.
The Italian economy, very dependent on Russian gas supplies, has a chronic trade deficit with Russia: in 2019, the last reference year before the pandemic, imports of Russian goods to Italy amounted to 14.3 billion euros. euros, nearly double exports to Russia (7.9 billion), according to figures released by the Italian government.
Gas prices have exploded this winter and Russia is suspected of having taken advantage of tensions in the energy markets to reduce its supply and drive prices up.
