ROME, April 11. /TASS/. Relations between Moscow and Rome are "far from normal," outgoing Russian Ambassador to Italy Sergey Razov said in an interview with the Adnkronos news agency on Tuesday.

"Regrettably, relations are far from normal. Dialogue at every level has been terminated. Many effectively working mechanisms of consultations and cooperation have been frozen. Sanctions are having a serious adverse impact on trade-and-economic, investment, financial, scientific-and-technical, and cultural cooperation," he said.

He expressed hope that this crisis will soon be overcome. "I keep on repeating that crises come and go but interests stay. I am absolutely sure that the Russian and Italian peoples have similar interests. Centuries of mutual sympathy, cooperation and mutual support prove that," he stressed.

Razov was relieved of his duties as Russian Ambassador to Italy and San Marino by President Vladimir Putin in early April. He will be succeeded by Alexey Paramonov.

Sergey Razov, born in 1953, has been Russia’s Ambassador to Italy and San Marino since May 2013.

Alexey Paramonov, born in 1962, was previously director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s First European Department. Prior to that, he was Russia’s Consul General in Milan.