ROME, November 5. /TASS/. Visits of the Italian leadership to China mean that Rome sees great benefit in cooperating with Beijing, Russian Ambassador to Italy Sergey Razov told TASS on Tuesday.

Razov earlier served as Russia's Ambassador to China.

"Italian colleagues are traditionally guided by pragmatic considerations when developing relations with other countries and take into account economic benefits. In this sense, Italy was a pioneer among European countries when it signed gas contracts with the USSR in the past. Italians understand potential benefits from the implementation of the New Silk Road project. Not everyone in the West is very enthusiastic about this approach," Razov said.

The Russian diplomat noted that Moscow continues to adhere to the principle of non-interference into the internal affairs of Italy.

In March, Italy signed a memorandum on understanding with China which envisages stepping up bilateral cooperation, including in the framework of China's Silk Road Economic Belt project.