Many Italian firms want to work in Russia using Euros – Chamber of Commerce

MOSCOW, July 7 (Sputnik) – Many Italian companies are ready to continue working in Russia, but they want to trade in euros, Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce (IRCC) President Ferdinando Pelazzo told Sputnik.

“In Italy, not all Italians are ready to accept payment in yuan or other currencies. Most Italian companies are ready to continue working if they are paid in euros. They also don’t want to be sanctioned,” Pelazzo said.

The IRCC is helping the companies find banks that can process such payments, though banks are growing increasingly wary of risky partnerships, Pelazzo said.

There are 250 companies in the Chamber, most of them Italian.

In July 2023, Pelazzo said that almost half of Italy’s exports to Russia were not subject to sanctions, in particular wine, footwear and fashion items. Pelazzo noted that the supply of goods from Italy to Russia used to account for 4% of all national exports, and in 2023 this figure fell to 0.9%.

The West stepped up sanctions pressure on Russia after the start of the military operation in Ukraine in 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the West’s long-term strategy of containing Russia was hurting the global economy instead.