Putin asks Italy to help restore ties with EU, meets with Pope

Putin claims sanctions hurt both Russia and EU

ROME — Russian President Vladimir Putin asked Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Thursday for help in improving relations between the European Union and Russia, and stop sanctions on Moscow.

After meeting with Conte as part of a one-day visit to Rome, Putin said he hopes Italy will explain to the EU the damage that has been caused by economic sanctions imposed by the EU and the U.S. after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in 2014.

“European nations missed the chance to sell billions worth of goods on the Russian market,” Putin said at a joint news conference with Conte. “This means losses for all of us.”

Putin has acknowledged that sanctions have cost Russia an estimated $50 billion since 2014, but he contends EU nations have suffered even greater damage.

Conte said Italy would act as far as possible to help restore a full relationship between Russia and the EU.

Addressing the situation in Libya, the two leaders agreed that the parties in the conflict should conclude a cease-fire agreement and start dialogue.

Putin, however, said Russia is not obligated to make any substantial effort in Libya because it has never bombed the country.

“It would be right to remember how the whole thing started, who destroyed Libya’s statehood. As far as I understand, it was NATO’s decision,” Putin said.

In his first visit to Rome in four years, Putin also met with Pope Francis for “substantive talks” at the Vatican and thanked the pontiff for discussions.

During an hourlong meeting at the Apostolic Palace, the two addressed “various questions of relevance to the life of the Catholic Church in Russia,” the Vatican said in a statement. It said they also discussed “the ecological question and various themes relating to current international affairs, with particular reference to Syria, Ukraine and Venezuela.”