“I feel like I’m listening to Putin’s propaganda”

Matteo Salvini, head of the far-right Italian League party, created a controversy on Sunday by questioning the effectiveness of European sanctions adopted against Russia after the start of its invasion of Ukraine, AFP quoted Agerpres as saying.

“Several months have passed, people are paying bills twice, four times more, seven months later the war continues and the coffers of the Russian Federation are overflowing with money,” Salvini said on RTL radio before attending an economic forum. House – Ambrosetti It takes place in Cernobbio in the north of Italy.

“Do sanctions work? No. Right now, those who are allowed are the winners, while those who have imposed sanctions are on their knees,” he wrote. Twitter Saturday.

“Clearly, someone in Europe is making a miscalculation. It is necessary to rethink the strategy to save jobs and companies in Italy,” pleaded Salvini.

Democratic Party (PD) leader Enrico Letta, one of his main opponents in the campaign for the September 25 legislative elections, immediately responded on the same social network: “I think Putin could not have said it better.”

“When I hear Salvini talking about sanctions, I get the impression that I’m listening to Putin’s propaganda. I worry about a country like Italy that winks at Russia,” Italy’s southern minister Mara Carfagna responded on the sidelines of an economic forum organized on the shores of Lake Como.

The links between Salvini and Moscow have raised concerns in Italy, particularly after the Ukraine invasion, which risked embarrassing the League and its allies Forza Italia and Fratelli d’Italia in the election campaign.

Instead, Giorgia Meloni, head of the Fratelli d’Italia (post-fascist) party, which leads the polls, took clear positions in favor of supporting Ukraine and sending arms to Kiev.

The debate – organized by the European House – will bring together key party leaders during the day, including Ambrosetti, Giorgia Meloni, Matteo Salvini and Enrico Letta.

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