(Adnkronos) – Russia’s government has summoned Italy’s charge d’affaires Giovanni Scopa over an alleged Italian media campaign against Russia and amid a diplomatic row that erupted when the Kremlin placed president Sergio Mattarella on a list of ‘Russophobes’ last month.
“The Russian government summoned Italy’s charge d’affaires in the Russian Federation, G. Scopa,” the foreign ministry said in a statement cited by the state-run Tass news agency.
“This is in connection with the anti-Russian campaign underway in the Italian media and Rome’s disproportionate reaction to Moscow’s criticism of certain hateful statements made by senior Italian government officials against Russia,” the statement said.
Scopa was summoned on Monday, according to the statement.
Foreign minister Antonio Tajani summoned Russia’s ambassador Aleksej Paramonov on 30 July after the Kremlin released a list of “hate speech” against Russia by top Western officials.
The Kremlin’s list included an address by Mattarella at Aix-Marseille University in February where he likened Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine in 2022 to World War II Nazi Germany’s expansionism.
The Kremlin also put Tajani and defence minister Guido Crosetto on its ‘Russophobe’ list, along with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte, and France’s president Emmanuel Macron.
Italy’s premier Giorgia Meloni dismissed the ‘Russophobe’ list as “yet another propaganda operation” from the Kremlin.
Rome and Moscow have had traditionally close political and economic ties, but after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the relationship has deteriorated.
Italy has continued to support Kiev during the ongoing war, and along with other Western countries has condemned Moscow for invading the former Soviet republic, saying it broke international law.
