Russia has told Italy’s Ambassador to Moscow, Giorgio Starace, that it has decided to expel 24 Italian diplomats, Ria Novosti quoted the Russian foreign ministry as saying on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, ANSA sources said Starace had been summoned to the foreign ministry. Italy expelled 30 Russian diplomats “for reasons of national security” in April. “It is a hostile act,” Italian Premier Mario Draghi told a news conference after meeting Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin in Rome. “But diplomatic relations must absolutely not be interrupted. This must not lead to the interruption of the diplomatic channels because, if you achieve peace, you achieve it via those diplomatic channels”.
Moscow was also expelling 34 French diplomats and 27 employees of the Spanish Embassy in Moscow and the Spanish Consulate General in Saint Petersburg in similar tit-for-tat measures. In a statement, the Italian foreign ministry said it acknowledged the expulsion of the diplomats, while stressing that they had exercised their duties in full respect of the Vienna Convention: “In reiterating firm condemnation of the attack on Ukraine by the Russian Federation, Italy strongly requests an immediate ceasefire that puts an end to the suffering of the civilian population and ensures the start of concrete negotiations for a sustainable, political solution to the conflict,” the statement said.
The European Commission, meanwhile, on Wednesday warned ENI that paying for Russian gas in roubles would breach the sanctions imposed on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine after the Italian energy giant opened two accounts with Gazprombank, one in roubles. “Paying in roubles means breaking the sanctions,” European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans stated at a news conference. “It is also a breach of the stipulated contracts, which say what currency to pay in. The contracts say euros or dollars, never roubles.” ENI said the decision to open the new accounts had been made in agreement with Italian institutions and respecting international sanctions, stating that gas payments will continue to be in euros.
