CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, XVII LEGISLATURE, 530th MEETING, 26 NOVEMBER 2015.

The issue of sanctions against Russia was dealt with also in the meeting of the Chamber of Deputies held on 26 November 2015. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mr Paolo Gentiloni Silveri, answering a parliamentary question regarding the meeting of the G20 held in Antalya, clarified the Government’s position on the sanctionatory regime and the future decisions to be adopted at the European level in that respect. He stated:

[…] obviously, at the G20 in Antalya no decision was taken as to sanctions, also because they were decided by the European Council and their possible prorogation must be decided by the European Council. […] I would like to say two things on the Italian position: the first is that, even if it agreed on sanctions, during the last months Italy has always fought so that sanctions, which pertain to a very grave and specific act in Ukraine, would not entail a general severance of diplomatic relations with Russia, because it would have been a mistake, severance [of relations] with Russia, because that would have been a mistake, and we are proud of the fact that the necessity to keep a channel of dialogue open with Russia is no longer the Italian position only, but has become in the last months a widely shared one. What will be decided on sanctions at the meetings entitled to decide on them? Of course, it will be a common decision of 28 European countries, therefore not a simple one; and it will entirely depend on the reasons for which sanctions were put in place, namely the compliance with the Minsk Agreements. We should remember that these agreements are binding upon Russia, but are binding upon Ukraine as well.

He concluded by saying:

[…] The assessment of this trend will be at the basis of a decision, which has by no means been adopted thus far.

The full text of the statement (in Italian) can be downloaded here.