MOSCOW, September 6. /TASS/. Washington and Brussels are pushing Rome to commit economic suicide in order to implement "Euro-Atlantic sanctions insanity," Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel on Tuesday.

"The Italian people and the Italian economy are being held hostage to senseless political decisions by Washington and Brussels," she said. "It seems that Rome is not simply being nudged towards senseless acts but towards economic suicide in order to implement the Euro-Atlantic sanctions madness," the diplomat noted. "And when hard-working Italian business collapses, it will be bought up by the Yanks for peanuts. As it always has. And they shouldn’t count on Chinese investors, after the West’s insults, Beijing won’t pick up somebody else’s tab," she added.

Zakharova noted the plan of Italian Minister for Ecological Transition Roberto Cingolani to reduce the Italian economy’s dependency on Russian hydrocarbons. She stressed that this plan was imposed on Rome by Brussels which in turn is acting on orders from Washington, but it is the Italian people who will suffer in the end. She noted the lowered heating temperatures in private houses, the limited operation of street lights and the possible closing of restaurants and bars at night. "The pandemic returns. Only now it is being created by politicians. Yet the situation is much worse. Inflation is at the level of the crisis-ridden 1980s. The cost of the consumer basket has grown by 10% and continues to rise. Add the loss of revenues from normal air service with Russia and various obstacles for an enormous number of Russians who used to visit Italy," the diplomat emphasized.