Italy's Salvini Says EU Sanctions Hurt Italian Firms More Than Russia

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said the European Union's sanctions against Russia are causing greater harm to Italian companies than to Russia itself, according to a report by Russian state news agency TASS.

Salvini, who leads Italy's League party and also serves as infrastructure minister, reportedly criticized the scale and complexity of the EU's most recent sanctions package, noting that the text of the 20th round of measures alone ran to 83 pages.

TASS did not provide further details on the specific remarks, the context in which they were made, or additional comments from Salvini elaborating on which sectors or companies he believes have been most affected.

The European Union has imposed successive rounds of sanctions on Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, targeting sectors including energy, finance, and trade. The bloc has periodically expanded and revised these measures, with EU officials maintaining that the sanctions are intended to limit Russia's capacity to fund its military campaign.

Salvini has previously expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of Western sanctions on Russia and has called for diplomatic solutions to the conflict in Ukraine. His League party is a coalition partner in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government.

TASS is a Russian state-owned news agency, and its reporting on Western officials' statements regarding sanctions has frequently emphasized narratives questioning the sanctions' impact on Russia.