Russia interested in restoring links with EU: FM

Russia needs to restore its relations with the European Union (EU) and believes that many governments want the same, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday.

"There are already quite a few governments that understand the abnormal and unhealthy nature of the current situation," Lavrov said at a press conference after talks with his Italian counterpart Enzo Moavero Milanesi.

According to Lavrov, these governments "are not being guided by ideological considerations, not by Euro-Atlantic solidarity, but by the fundamental, deep-rooted interests of European countries."

He said that one such government is the new Italian administration of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, which took office on June 1, a position Russia highly appreciates.

The EU imposed a range of economic sanctions on Russia over its annexation of Crimea, formerly part of Ukraine, in 2014 and its alleged role in the conflict in the south of the country.

Moscow hopes that finally the interests of the European people will prevail, in particular because European businesses have suffered losses as a result of the sanctions and don't want to tolerate this situation any longer, Lavrov said.

This is confirmed by the upward trend in trade turnover between Russia and the EU over the past two years, he said.

Milanesi agreed that the EU and Russian needed to restore their relations.

"We are interested in finding a way out of this situation. This is our aim, but we understand that this is not a simple process," he said at the press conference, speaking through an interpreter.

Milanesi said that Italy is interested in playing an active role in restoring Russia-EU ties. Furthermore, both see eye-to-eye on a number of global issues, including the need to fight terrorism and drug trafficking, as well as in energy.