Alvise Armellini
05 April 2022•Update: 05 April 2022
ROME
Italy threw its weight Tuesday behind the latest round of EU sanctions against Russia, hours after Rome announced the expulsion of 30 Russian diplomats from its territory.
The sanctions, proposed by the European Commission and needing approval from EU governments, include a ban on coal imports and Russian or Russian-operated ships entering EU ports.
“Italy is fully aligned with the rest of the European Union and supports with conviction the measures,” Prime Minister Mario Draghi said during a visit to the northwestern city of Turin.
The Italian leader again condemned the atrocities blamed on retreating Russian forces in Bucha, Irpin and other Ukrainian cities, saying “they deeply shake our consciences as Europeans, committed democrats and Italians.”
“Independent investigations must shed full light on what happened. War crimes must be punished,” he said, warning that Russian authorities, including the army and President Vladimir Putin, “must answer for their actions.”
Draghi cast the Ukraine war as “pointless” for “the great Russian people,” leading only to “shame, isolation and poverty,” and urged the Kremlin “cease hostilities, stop the massacres of civilians, and to declare a cease-fire.”
Hours earlier, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio announced the expulsion of 30 Russian diplomats over “national security” concerns – mirroring similar moves by other EU countries, including France, Germany, Spain, and Denmark.
“This measure, taken in coordination with other European and Atlantic partners, was made necessary by motives related to our national security, in the context of the current crisis situation stemming from the unjustified aggression of Ukraine by the Russian Federation,” Di Maio told RAI public broadcaster.
Italian media quoted Russian officials as saying that Russia would respond in kind to the diplomatic expulsions.
