ROME, December 2. /TASS/. Russia and Italy are concerned about a drop in trade turnover between the two countries, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday following talks with his Italian counterpart, Paolo Gentiloni.
"We are concerned about the decline in trade turnover," he said. "Italy has dropped into sixth place among Russia’s major trading and economic partners, even though it was the fourth and even the third on this list," he said.
"We hope that the activities of the Russian-Italian Council on Economic, Industrial and Financial Cooperation chaired by Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Arkady Dvorkovich, and Paolo Gentiloni will contribute to restoring the positive dynamics in trade and economic ties. The council’s meeting was held in Rome in October after a break of four years," Russia's top diplomat said.
Lavrov added that relations between the two countries are developing in line with the agreements reached during the visit of Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, to Russia.
According to Russia’s top diplomat, the two ministers spoke out in favor of developing parliamentary contacts. "We expect President of Italy’s Senate, Mr. Pietro Grasso, to visit Russia next year to discuss preparations for the 15th session of the Grand Russian-Italian Inter-Parliamentary Commission," he explained.