'Sanctions against Russia damage Italian companies'

European Union sanctions against Russia are damaging Italian companies, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Tuesday.

His comments come a day after Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini had defined the EU sanctions a "social, cultural and economic absurdity".

In the coalition contract drawn up in May, Italy's ruling parties wrote that Russia should not be seen as "a menace but rather an economic and commercial partner, potentially increasingly significant".