ROME, April 19. /TASS/. Good relations between the peoples of Italy and Russia outweigh the political "party line" that Rome follows, outgoing Russian Ambassador to Italy Sergey Razov said.

"Italy unconditionally joined in with the imposition of destructive sanctions on Russia and supplying weapons to Ukraine, albeit against the will of its people. However, it is also a country whose people love Russia and its culture and have an affection for Russians. In this case, the latter outweighs the former," the diplomat said in an interview with Russian news outlets.

"The EU’s sanctions against Russia are negatively affecting the overall trade and economic cooperation between our countries, including in the field of investment, as well as the activities of Italy’s business community," he noted. "As a result, Italian exports to Russia are declining. <...> The share of Russian natural gas, which used to meet 40% of Italy’s import needs, has dropped to 10%," Razov specified. However, in his words, despite pressure, many Italian companies continue to work in Russia, as they are unwilling to lose profits and ties that took decades to build.

"Relations between the governments are still there, including diplomatic, economic, consular and other ties," he went on to say. "The two counties maintain bilateral channels of communication, although on a greatly reduced scale," the envoy added.

Razov also responded to recent criticism from Italy’s top diplomat, Antonio Tajani, who said at a press conference that "the Russian ambassador went beyond the scope of his expertise" by making political assessments "in a manner inappropriate for an ambassador." "My mission as an ambassador is outlined in the relevant Russian legislation. I quote: ‘An ambassador is Russia’s top official accredited in a host country, who uses diplomatic and international legal means to implement Russia’s foreign policy.’ In my 30 years as an ambassador to various countries, I have always strictly complied with these requirements, which make clear the need for the necessary ‘political assessments,’ don’t they?" the diplomat said.

In early April, Russian President Vladimir Putin relieved Razov of his duties as Russia’s Ambassador to Italy and concurrent Ambassador to San Marino. Alexey Paramonov was appointed to succeed him.