ROME, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- The long history between Italy and Russia added a new chapter Wednesday when Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for the first time, vowing to strengthen trade ties.
Conte, who next week will mark his fifth month as Italy's head of government, traveled to Moscow to meet Putin and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Conte invited Putin to visit Rome.
The main focus of the visit was economics. Trade between the two countries totaled 23.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2017, but that is less than half of the 54.1 billion U.S. dollars in Italy-Russia trade in 2013, before the Crimea issue.
Since 2014, Western countries including the United States and the EU have imposed a range of economic sanctions on Russia over its annexation of Crimea, formerly part of Ukraine, and its alleged role in the conflict in the south of the country.
Since the Conte government was installed on June 1, Italy has been the leading European Union voice calling for the sanctions to be lifted.
A week ago, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini made his own trip to Moscow, where he called the current sanctions "madness."
On his visit, Conte took a more nuanced view, saying that, "For Italy, sanctions are never an end, but instead an instrument that must be overcome as soon as possible." Conte did not say whether Italy would use its veto power to block the sanctions, which must be renewed.
For his part, Putin praised the ties between the countries. "Our economic ties have remained strong," Putin said. "Despite difficult times, our political contacts have remained at a high level."
According to Andrea Giannotti, a historian specializing in Italy-Russia ties at both Italy's University of Pisa and at the Moscow State Institute for International Relations, Italy finds itself in a difficult position on the topic of Russian ties with Europe.
"Italy really has two priorities," Giannotti told Xinhua. "One is the European Union and the Atlantic alliance, and the other involves its long historical ties with Russia."
Giannotti said ties between the two territories dates to the 13th century.
The strong ties continued until modern times. According to Eleonora Tafuro, a researcher focusing on Russia for the Italian Institute for International Political Studies, Italian carmaker Fiat was among the first major companies to start production in the USSR when it opened a factory in Tolyatti in 1970.
Starting in the 1990s, former Italian prime ministers Silvio Berlusconi and Romani Prodi both visited Russia and prioritized the ties between the countries.
Today, despite the sanctions Italy gets nearly half its energy from Russian sources, Tafuro said in an interview.
"It is not a surprise Italy has been an advocate for Russia in the European Union," Tafuro said. "The ties are so deep and varied, whether it's through classical music or energy or political interests. It's a very important factor."
