Italy has denied visas to Russian delegation members who were scheduled to attend an International Astronautical Congress in Milan, a move that the Russian representatives denounced.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, this move is viewed as “another manifestation of the Russohpbic course of the current Italian leadership,” targeting the new Italian Prime Minister, Georgia Meloni, Schengen.News reports.
The Italian authorities have yet to comment regarding the statement, but there is a chance that the “outrage” of Russian authorities could go unnoticed.
Russia Rejects Visas of 3 Italian Deputies, Weeks After Withholding Their Documents
In February of 2024, the Russian authorities denied visas for three Italian deputies who wanted to attend the funeral of Aleksei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader and an open political rival of Putin.
Benedetto Della Vedova from Europa, Lia Quartapelle of the Democratic Party and Ivan Scarlarotto of Italia Viva are also known for being vocal supporters of the Ukrainian resistance, and the three Italian politicians considered the move to have their visas rejected as “extremely serious”.
Italian-Russian Relations Are Increasingly Weakening
Following the military attack of Russia in Ukraine, the relations between Russia and Italy, as well as the whole EU, have deteriorated. Some EU countries have altogether stopped accepting visa applications from Russians, while others have imposed various restrictions.
According to data published by Schengen Statistics Portal, Russians have filed 24 per cent fewer applications for Schengen visas in 2023, totalling 520,387. However, what stands out is that Russians have filed most of their applications to Italy instead of Spain, as was the case before the war.
Data reveal that Italy was the main recipient country for Russian visa applicants, receiving 27 per cent of all visa requests filed – 143,517 in total.
Russia significantly cut the number of visas issued to EU diplomats, with this leading to greater tensions between the two parts. Data from the Russian Consular Department reveals that the number of diplomatic visas issued in 2023 has decreased by 6.6 per cent.
The number of Russian visas granted to EU diplomats was 447 in 2023, down from 479 in 2022, while politicians of Belgium and Bulgaria were issued most visas – 39 and 36 visas, respectively.
Source: https://schengen.news/italy-denies-visas-to-russian-delegation-planning-to-attend-space-congress-in-milan/
