ROME — Italy’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructures Matteo Salvini is again pushing for engagement with Moscow, starting with the interests of Italian companies still operating in Russia.
But the initiative by League leader was quickly picked up by the Kremlin’s propaganda machine, just as Russia is once again emerging as an increasingly visible fault line in Italian politics.
Salvini’s meeting in Milan with representatives of Italian companies that continue to operate in Russia had a significant aftermath:
- TASS interviewed the deputy prime minister, amplifying elements of Moscow’s strategic narrative, including through Salvini’s own remarks.
- At the same time, Russian Ambassador to Italy Alexey Paramonov portrayed the initiative as the possible beginning of a broader shift in Italy’s approach to his country.
Why it matters: The episode shows the delicate ground Italy — and particularly figures such as Salvini, the League leader known for his openness toward Russia — is navigating.
- Even assuming the initiative was driven by economic interests and a desire to represent Italian businesses that have suffered from the breakdown in relations with Moscow following Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, any opening can be used by Moscow to argue that Europe’s front against the Kremlin is beginning to crack.
- Russia has become an issue cutting across Italy’s political camps, dividing the center-left — where the Democratic Party and the Five Star Movement hold markedly different positions — as well as the center-right, which is also facing pressure from the radical right.
- Salvini is personally facing competition on his right from the new political movement led by his former deputy Roberto Vannacci, which is taking votes from the League.
- Moscow reacted quickly to the Milan meeting, amplifying it both through TASS and through its ambassador in Rome.
Zoom in: Moscow’s reading. Paramonov went beyond commenting on the economic substance of the meeting. The ambassador called it “the beginning of a return of the Italian establishment to realism, pragmatism and common sense.”
- That framing shifts the meaning of the initiative: from a discussion about the interests of Italian companies to a potential sign of a broader political rethink in Italy.
- “We see that an increasingly large part of public opinion in Western European countries, including Italy, is questioning how much the current anti-Russian line of their respective governments actually serves the interests of the states involved and their populations,” Paramonov wrote on Facebook.
- According to the ambassador, the same question is arising “increasingly often” within Italian business circles.
The narrative: Paramonov blames European sanctions for the sharp contraction in bilateral economic relations, saying trade between Italy and Russia has fallen almost tenfold and energy cooperation has been nearly wiped out.
- In his telling, Italian businesses are also struggling both to replace the affordable Russian energy supplies they once received and to find new markets for exports traditionally destined for Russia.
- That is Moscow’s position. It is also the framework in which the Russian ambassador has chosen to place Salvini’s initiative politically.
The TASS factor. Adding to the effect was Salvini’s interview with TASS.
- The context matters: TASS is Russia’s state-owned news agency and has faced sanctions or restrictions in several countries since the invasion of Ukraine. Canada and Ukraine have imposed measures against the agency, while Estonia and Lithuania have restricted its activities — with a Russian drone that violated Lithuanian airspace shot down today in a NATO operation involving Italian aircraft.
- International organizations have also distanced themselves from the agency: Thomson Reuters removed TASS from its content marketplace, while the European Alliance of News Agencies suspended its membership.
- TASS, however, is not subject to an EU-wide ban comparable to those imposed on other Russian state media such as RT and Sputnik.
- That makes not only what Salvini said politically relevant, but also the platform through which his words are being projected to Russian and international audiences.
What he said: Salvini told TASS that he does not view Russia as a threat and described the Italian government’s position as “as balanced as possible compared to that of some others.”
- “My goal is to end the conflict so that weapons are laid down and diplomacy can play its role again, putting an end to attacks, bombings, and deaths,” Salvini said. “We are not at war with anyone.”
- The League leader also framed his approach as an attempt to keep channels of dialogue open. Drawing on his role as infrastructure and transport minister, he said he considers it “very important to build bridges of dialogue between the two countries in conflict.”
- “As minister, I’m building bridges, expanding ports and airports, and modernizing railroads and highways,” Salvini told TASS, adding that he was trying to be a “humble peacemaker.”
Between the lines: The question, then, is not necessarily whether Salvini shares Moscow’s interpretation of the meeting.
- It is that the initiative gives the Kremlin useful material for a specific narrative: sanctions are hurting Europeans, the business community is increasingly frustrated with them, and parts of the Western political establishment are beginning to return to a more pragmatic approach toward Russia.
- Paramonov’s comments make that interpretation explicit.
- For Salvini, this creates a problem of political exposure. An initiative that can be presented in Italy as a defense of national economic interests is read and amplified in Moscow as something more: a political signal about the resilience of Europe’s approach toward Russia.
The big picture: All this comes as Russia once again divides Italian politics across party lines, both on the center-left and the center-right.
- For Salvini, competition from Roberto Vannacci on his right adds another layer, making the Russia file part of a broader political and electoral contest.
What to watch: The question now is whether Milan will remain a one-off initiative focused on the interests of Italian businesses or become the start of a more structured League policy on economic relations with Moscow.
- Russia’s reaction already points to something else: any further move by Salvini will be watched not only in Rome and other European capitals, but also in Moscow — where there is a clear interest in portraying openings from Italian politicians as signs of a broader shift.
The bottom line: Salvini may want to talk about business, trade and the national interest. Moscow wants to talk about cracks in the West’s approach toward Russia. The Milan meeting shows how quickly those two conversations can overlap.
