MOSCOW, October 25. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Italy will attend the St. Petersburg Culture Forum.

"Italy will participate as a guest in the 7th St. Petersburg Culture Forum scheduled for November 15-17," Putin said at a press conference after talks with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. The Russian president added that "leading Russian museums regularly hold large exhibitions of Italian art."

Putin said that the current exhibition of Venetian painters at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts is an example of that.

The Russian president also said together with Conte, they watched part of the film "Sin" about Michelangelo directed by Andrey Konchalovsky. "This brilliant work of Russian and Italian cinematographers will undoubtedly spark interest not only in Russia, but also in Italy and other countries," he noted.

Putin also noted the increasing number of Russian tourists in Italy and Italian tourists in Russia. "Mutual tourist exchanges are growing. In the first half of 2018, 20% more Russians visited Italy. The number of Italian tourists to Russia is also increasing," he said.