ROME, February 7. /TASS/. The refusal of economic cooperation with Russia came at a cost to Italy’s economy, which demonstrates weak dynamics, Russian Ambassador to Italy Alexey Paramonov told TASS, adding that the area of energy supplies to the country faces the most telling consequences of abandoning Russian exports.

"The Italian authorities have taken the path of refusal of economic cooperation with Russia. Bilateral trade turnover in 2023 will hardly surpass 9 bln euro (according to Italy’s statistics). Meanwhile, not long ago, in 2022, it reached 32.9 bln euro. Naturally, such a sharp drop in bilateral ties could not but affect the general state of the Italian economy. We see one of the lowest GDP growth indicators in the EU, which only equaled 0.7% last year, the contraction of industrial production by 3.1%, unemployment exceeding 7%," the diplomat said.

Officials in the country’s government "will never admit" that the current dire state in the economy and refusal to trade with Russia are connected, though "this is made clear by the frantic efforts to find replacement for Russian exports that mainly included energy and various types of commodities," he stressed.