Mattarella on the Kremlin's list of Russophobes - the Foreign Ministry summons the Moscow ambassador

ROME - The Italian Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador to Italy after the publication on the its website of a list of “examples of expressions of Russophobia”, a list of incidents and names that include the President Sergio Mattarella, the Minister of Defence Guido Crosetto and the head of the Foreign Ministry Antonio Tajani as discussed by Il Fatto Quotidiano. After summoning the Russian diplomat, the Foreign Minister himself stated that he considered the inclusion of the Head of State on this list to be a provocation against the Republic and the Italian people and offered his institutional and personal solidarity to President Mattarella.

  “The publication by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of a list of alleged ‘Russophobes’, accused of ‘inciting hatred’ against Russia, is nothing more than yet another propaganda operation aimed at diverting attention from Moscow's serious responsibilities, which are well known to the international community and which the international community has condemned from the outset," said Giorgia Meloni. "I would therefore like to express my solidarity with the President of Italy Sergio Mattarella, Ministers Antonio Tajani and Guido Crosetto, and all those who have been the targets of this unacceptable provocation.” The Prime Minister added that “Italy has firmly chosen to stand alongside Ukraine in the face of the brutal war of aggression unleashed by Russia three years ago, and continues to guarantee its support for the Ukrainian people in their heroic resistance.”

  The reference to the President is to the speech he gave at the University of Marseille on 5 February 2025, when he was awarded an honorary degree, in which he compared Russia to the Nazi Third Reich for its attack on Ukraine. This comparison was unacceptable to Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who branded his words as “blasphemous fabrications.”

  The publication explains, “Representatives of the Western political establishment and the Kiev regime seem to compete year after year in Russophobic fervour in their speeches and public statements. Almost every day, incitement to hatred is openly used against Russia and its peoples. In this section, we record the most obvious examples.”

  The passage from the Head of State published on the official Russian diplomacy portal reads: “The result was a strengthening of the spirit of conflict rather than cooperation, despite the awareness of the need to address and resolve problems on a broader scale. But the principle of dominance prevailed, not cooperation. And these were wars of conquest. This was the Third Reich's plan in Europe. The current Russian aggression against Ukraine is of this nature.”

  In the section relating to the year 2024, in addition to another quote from Mattarella delivered on the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Montecassino at the Polish military cemetery (“The tragedy of the Ukrainian people reminds us of the destruction that struck European countries and invites us to renew our commitment to defending peace, freedom and the rule of law from dictatorial regimes, values for which those who died here gave their lives”), Antonio Tajani and Guido Crosetto are also mentioned.

  As for the Foreign Minister, reference is made to an interview given to Il Messaggero on Feb. 24, 2024, in which the head of Italian diplomacy called for Ukrainian flags to be flown at the April 24 march because “Ukrainian fighters, like partisans, are fighting for freedom”.

  For the Minister of Defence, reference is made to an interview with Il Messaggero on May 6, 2024. “I fear that Putin wants all of Ukraine, and no one can guarantee that he will stop there. It is obvious that he has in mind an international order in which the strongest take over other countries if and when they want,” reads Crosetto's statement published on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website.

  The list also includes statements by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, three by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and seven by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas. There is only one from the US: a statement by Senator Lindsay Graham who recently, drawing a parallel with American raids on Iran, speculated that the United States could have bombed Russia if Moscow had not complied with the 50-day ultimatum (now reduced to 10 days) imposed by President Donald Trump to make peace with Ukraine. “If Putin and the others are wondering what will happen on day 51, I advise them to call the Ayatollah,” the senator wrote on X.

  It is interesting to note the comparison between 2024 and 2025 for the list of quotes concerning the United States: under the Biden administration, there were nine controversial statements, while under Trump there was only one. This is a sign of how the change of course in the White House has also changed the relationship between the two countries.

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