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Italy’s Lega Nord plans to sign cooperation protocol with United Russia

He said Lega Nord’s leader, Matteo Salvini, will pay a visit to Moscow on Monday

ROME, March 5. /TASS/. Italy’s Lega Nord, or the Northern League, will sign a protocol of cooperation with Russia’s ruling United Russia party on March 6, Gianluca Savoini, a coordinator of relations with Russia and the President of the Lombardy-Russia association, told TASS on Sunday.

He said Lega Nord’s leader, Matteo Salvini, will pay a visit to Moscow on Monday. "Matteo Salvini will be in Moscow tomorrow to sign a protocol of cooperation between Lega Nord and United Russia," he said, adding that details will be made public after the signing ceremony.

Founded in 1989, Lega Nord, which was a ruling coalition members under Italy’s former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, is now a leading opposition force in Italy. Its leader, Matteo Salvini, who has already announced his plans to run for prime minister at the next elections, is seen by many as a new leader of the center right forces.

Lega Nord has been calling for the lifting of the anti-Russian sanctions ever since they were imposed. It is active on the regional level where it is represented by the governors of Italy’s most industrially developed regions, Veneto and Lombardy.

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