Italy: Sanctions have hit Italian firms in the pocket - Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on sanctions against Russia during a joint press conference with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, following the opening of the National Day of Russia exhibition at the Expo Milano 2015 in Milan, Wednesday. During his speech, Putin commented on how the volume of trade and cooperation between Russia and Italy had declined since the end of 2014 because of sanctions. The Russian president stated that, if prolonged, Russia will find other partners for cooperation, and lamented that the lack of implementation of “mutually beneficial” and “pre-negotiated agreements” had led to “the Italian companies’ loss of one billion euros.” Putin arrived in Milan for the inauguration of the Russian Pavilion of Expo-2015 Milano, where he met with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. He is also expected to meet with Italian President Sergio Mattarella in Rome before visiting the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis.