Italy-Russia – Focus on the current European and international scenarios

Italian Ambassador in Moscow, Cesare Ragaglini, delivered a lecture on “Italy and Russia in the current European and International Scenario” at the Academic Council of the Institute of European Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The Institute’s director, Professor Alexey Gromyko, chaired the meeting. The Ambassador’s speech emphasised the changed context of relations between Russia and the West consequently to the Ukrainian crisis, which broke out a few months after the start of Ragaglini’s mission to the Federation, but also the wide-reaching bilateral relations. Despite the unfavourable international situation, relations have nevertheless grown thanks to important channels of political dialogue, reaffirmed by the coming attendance of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, the ability of Italian companies to reformulate their strategies for the Russian market and an ancient and deep cultural harmony that has always favoured the friendship between the two peoples and the two Countries. The audience of academics, PhD students, members of the Institute and representatives of other universities, expressed great interest in the lecture, engaging in a long question and answer session with the ambassador.