Following on the footsteps of French legislators, a group of Italian politicians has said they will break ranks with their European Union colleagues and visit the Russian-annexed Ukrainian territory of Crimea – without permission from Kyiv.
Russian newspaper Kommersant reported on July 29 that a group of Italian members of parliament have announced they will visit the peninsula in October to show their rejection of economic sanctions that the West imposed on Russia and their support for the “self-determination” of the Crimean people.
The Italian members of parliament planning to visit Crimea are part of the Five Star Movement, a political party that got the second-highest vote in the 2014 European Parliament elections in Italy. The party defines itself as Eurosceptic, and has been particularly critical of Western sanctions imposed on Russia after Moscow invaded and then annexed Ukraine’s Crimea in March 2014.
“We decided to go on a visit to Moscow and Crimea in October to reiterate our clear rejection of the economic sanctions (against Russia), and as a sign of peace for the construction of a new multi-polar world that respects sovereignty and the self-determination of peoples,” Manlio Di Stefano, the spokesperson of the Five Star Movement, said in a statement.
According to Di Stefano, the economic sanctions imposed by the European Union against Russia are merely an attempt by European governments to curry favor with the United States.
“In a clumsy attempt to please (U.S. President) Barack Obama, the European Union began a damaging trade war with Russia following the crisis in Ukraine,” Di Stefano said.
After the Five Star Movement announced its plans to visit Crimea, another Italian political party also showed interest in the initiative. According to Russia’s Kremlin-controlled Sputnik news agency, the Italian right-wing political party, the Northern League, stated it would send its lawmakers to Crimea, if they were invited.
“If there were an official invitation from some Crimean authorities, we’d organize a mission in a short (period of) time,” said Sergio Divina, deputy leader and a senator of the Northern League.
The Northern League is a regionalist political party that came in fourth place in the 2014 European Parliament elections in Italy. Like the Five Star Movement, the party has also criticized Western economic sanctions against Russia.
Earlier, on July 23-24, a group of French members of parliament went to Crimea on a visit that was criticized by both Ukrainian and French officials.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the visit of the French politicians as “an irresponsible step and demonstration of (the MPs’) disrespect for the sovereignty of Ukraine.”
The ministry said that the French lawmakers would now be banned from entering the country for five years.
France also condemned the visit, and in an official statement its foreign ministry said it “highly regretted” the French lawmaker’s initiative, which it said was a violation of international law.
The Italian government has yet to make a statement on the pending Italian delegation’s trip to Crimea. The Kyiv Post contacted the Italian foreign ministry for comments by phone, but press officers there said that they needed to consult with their superiors before issuing an official statement.
The EU and America have declared illegal the annexation of Crimea by Russia, and imposed economic sanctions on Moscow in response to Russia’s land grab. However, some European lawmakers have opposed these economic sanctions and are now seeking to achieve a rapprochement with Russia.
Kyiv Post summer intern Pablo Gabilondo can be reached at [email protected].
