MOSCOW, December 12. /TASS/. Relations between Russia and Italy are undergoing their most profound crisis since the Second World War, with Rome's allegiance to NATO preventing any positive interaction, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during a webinar for the Global Fact-Checking Network (GFCN).

"Russian-Italian relations are passing through their most severe crisis since World War II. We certainly remember Italy's role in that war, but we also recall and value the positive period in our relations, which spanned 80 years, a substantial length of time during which we maintained highly constructive cooperation with Italy," the diplomat said.

Zakharova pointed out that Italy has been swept up in anti-Russian narratives and is facing "pressure from NATO, the Anglo-Saxon world, and this ultraliberal dictatorship."

"At present, our relations are in a state of pause. I am referring not only to official contacts but also to economic and financial ties. I would prefer to believe they are not terminated but merely suspended. This situation is not our doing, not Russia's doing, but stems from the pressure Italy is under," she stressed, adding that Italy stands to lose significantly from this pause in relations with Russia.

The Global Fact-Checking Network (GFCN), founded in 2025 by TASS, the Russian non-profit organization Dialogue Regions, and New Media Workshop, brings together fact-checking specialists and organizations from across the globe. More than 95 foreign journalists, investigators, and institutions from 47 countries are currently partnering with the GFCN to counter disinformation.