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Coronavirus pandemic

Media outlets seek to discredit Russia’s pandemic assistance mission — former Italian PM

Russia provided assistance to us in the darkest hour of the pandemic, Giuseppe Conte said

ROME, May 14. /TASS/. Media outlets are trying to question the mission that Russia carried out in Italy at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said at a press conference.

"Russia provided assistance to us in the darkest hour of the pandemic and I am sorry that as time passes, we have to deal with a fantasy reconstruction of events," he said in response to a TASS question. "The participation of military specialists was a feature of the Russian mission but they were always accompanied by our service members and our intelligence kept an eye on them. We took regular precautionary measures. The mission was accomplished, assistance was provided and it was an expression of solidarity at the time," Conte noted.

"Some believe that the Russian mission was a propaganda campaign. However, I was focused on the benefits that my country received at that critical moment. Others say that the Russians came to get a virus sample. But President Vladimir Putin told me then that hundreds of novel coronavirus cases had been recorded in Russia by that time. Moreover, after our Spallanzani Institute had isolated the strain, we promptly handed all materials over to the WHO and researchers to develop vaccines," the ex-Italian prime minister added.

Russia’s mission in Italy involved more than 100 military infectious disease experts and epidemiologists and eight medical teams, as well as disinfection equipment. The mission was launched in late March 2020 based on an agreement reached by Putin and Conte and lasted until May.

A new wave of espionage allegations against Moscow began in Italy amid developments in Ukraine and a one-sided interpretation of events by the media and the country’s authorities. A thing to note is that some Italian media outlets from the very start made allegations that Russian intel agents had arrived in Italy disguised as military doctors in order to collect information about NATO’s facilities in the country. Another theory is that they were tasked with collecting biological material.

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