From the outset, the Italian government has been among the most tepid enforcers of the European Union’s sanctions against Russia. And as the impact of Western sanctions has reportedly negatively affected the Italian economy, Rome appears increasingly determined to overcome the current regime of penalties imposed on the Kremlin (Sputnik News, April 15; Ambmosca.esteri.it, accessed April 18). Yet, an in-depth look at Italian-Russian trade dynamics, as well as Russia’s import-export data at large, reveals that any attempt by Rome to revise Europe’s sanctions policy toward Moscow will be dictated by political considerations and not by economic needs. And the same …read more
Source: The Jamestown Foundation