Trani named the main problem in relations between Russia and Italy

Russian-Italian economic cooperation is in a "terrible" state, said the president of the Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce Vincenzo Trani in an interview with RBC. According to him, the Russian government and businessmen no longer trust the Italian government and business after the introduction of sanctions.

"There was historically trust between Italy and Russia - now there is no trust. It is no longer possible to build the relations as they were, because people remember how difficult it was to solve even the simplest problems and situations," Trani said.

Trust, he says, is not created “so quickly and so easily” — it takes many years. “We have a lot of Russian friends who invested in Italy and who trusted Italy, but now they cannot return to the houses they bought because they are under sanctions,” the head of the Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce points out. Many, he points out, bought yachts and put them in the ports of various Italian cities because they loved to vacation in Capri or Sardinia. It was very important for Italians that these people chose Italy for investment, and not France, Spain, Greece or Croatia, Trani emphasizes. “And after this situation with sanctions, there is no more trust, you understand? And it is not recreated so quickly, not so easily. It will take many years,” says the RBC interlocutor.

But the crisis of trust between Russia and Italy is not between Italians and Russians, Trani believes. In the EU structure, countries make common decisions, but people's opinions on sanctions may differ: "Because the economy suffers due to certain decisions. People do not understand where the high taxes come from, why electricity and petrol are so expensive, why gas is so expensive, if nothing has changed in Italy."

At a time when relationships need to be built, the chamber of commerce is an important channel for this activity, Trani continues. The Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce itself has existed since 1965 – it was created back in the days of the USSR, “when there was an embargo, the Iron Curtain and everything else.” At that time, Italy and the Soviet Union worked through the chamber of commerce on an important operation – the Fiat automobile concern helped create the future AvtoVAZ. Then the chamber headed the Russia -Italy Council  and was a platform through which business delegations communicated directly with governments. “This was the role that Silvio Berlusconi gave us at the time,” Trani recalls.

The Chamber of Commerce, he says, solves problems that are important for relations between Russia and Italy at a time when other channels are not working. But now the channel is working at a “minimum level” because the Italian side “does not want to use it,” the RBC interlocutor continues. “We cannot work freely because we are asked to follow certain instructions from the Italian government,” Trani points out.

Italian business in Russia, he continues, is watching with interest the resumption of Russian-American dialogue and supports the discussion of the issue of easing sanctions. For its part, the Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce is ready to participate in this process - for example, to analyze what level of sanctions can be lifted as a priority and what effect each restrictive measure can actually have on the development of the Italian economy.

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