ROME, October 14. /TASS/. Trade turnover between Italy and Russia decreased around fivefold to $7-8 bln, Russian Ambassador to Italy Alexey Paramonov told Corriere della Sera newspaper.

"We trade less and less, mutual trade turnover has fallen almost fivefold to a modest $7-8 bln, expected by the end of this year," the ambassador said.

He noted that in the modern world it is very difficult to regain lost positions. "Returning to the situation at the beginning of 2022 will no longer be possible, no matter how events develop," Paramonov said.

"Today, relations between our countries have changed significantly under the influence of the international situation. But we see that mutual respect and sympathy between our peoples are not so easily subjected to opportunistic shifts," the diplomat noted, speaking about the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Italian Republic in Moscow on October 14, 1994.