ROME, October 18. /TASS/. The Italian delegation’s recent visit to Crimea is part of the Italian regions’ "foreign and economic policy" and that the population of those regions support, an advisor to the Veneto regional council, Luciano Sandona, told TASS when summing up the visit. The Italian delegation comprised regional councils’ representatives from Veneto, Lombardy, Emilia Romagna, Toscana and Liguria.

"The EU authorities have been drifting away from the people. In fact, the people stand with you, we can see that. Just see the response to our mission that has given many of our businessmen hope. This is true despite all the protest letters that we received, including one from Italy’s Foreign Ministry," Sandona elaborated.

He called the outcome of the visit "very positive." "The delegation consisted of representatives of the biggest companies’ from our regions. As far as I know, some agreements have been sealed already, and the contacts will continue at the economic level as well as at the political one. We have some ideas that we intend to implement very soon," the Italian representative stated.

"This mission has become part of our foreign and economic policy," he noted adding that the regions represented in the delegation produced two-thirds of Italy’s GDP.

A delegation of businessmen and legislators from five regions of Italy visited Crimea last week. At their meetings with local authorities and businessmen, cooperation issues and the prospects of lifting of Western sanctions were discussed. After the visit, four projects for the peninsula were announced that could be implemented by foreign companies. They include the construction of a four or five-star hotel in Crimea’s capital of Simferopol, the construction of a turkey meat producing factory, the establishment of a Crimean-Italian winery and a housing project dubbed the "Italian village", that will be implemented by a Crimean construction company.

In May 2015, the Veneto regional council became the first in Italy to adopt a resolution calling for recognizing Crimea as part of Russia and lifting the anti-Russian sanctions. Later such resolutions were approved in Liguria and Lombardy. Toscana and Piedmont followed, however, excluding the part concerning the recognition of Crimea.