SANREMO /Italy/, February 11. /TASS/. Several hundred protesters have taken to the streets in the Italian city of Sanremo to rally against the speech of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky at the Sanremo Music Festival’s final, due to be held at the Ariston theater on Saturday night, TASS reported from the site.

Demonstrators, including representatives of almost 20 public associations, rallied against the bellicose policy of NATO and Rome concerning the Ukraine conflict.

"Most Italians do not share the government’s choice to support the Kiev regime. Nevertheless, Zelensky will be allowed to send his message to the Sanremo festival, with which he will beg for more weapons in order to commit his crimes and drag the world into a new world conflict," a representative of the Free Piazza of Genoa association told the TASS correspondent.

He added that "the Italians, who have always been friends with the Russians, reject this latest provocation and brazen violation of national independence."

"That is why Italians will be protesting in San Remo, Rome, Genoa and other cities against the government and against any form of military support of the war that NATO has unleashed against the Russian Federation and all the countries that do not obey the alliance’s will," he said.

The United Italy (Nuova Italia Unita) party, which cooperates with the United Russia party, also took part in the rally. Since last summer, its founder Amedeo Avondet has been organizing actions in support of Russia across Italy, including in Rome, Milan, Bergamo and Bologna. Alongside United Italy, another political movement called Front of Disagreement took to the streets, holding a large banner saying ‘No to Zelensky in San Remo’, ‘No to Ukraine in NATO’.

Since the summer of 2022, rallies in support of Russia and against anti-Russian sentiment, including in the Italian media, have been held across Italy.