Italy is one of Russia's main political and economic partners and the two countries have always understood and trusted each other, foreign minister Angelino Alfano said on Tuesday during a visit to Moscow
Bilateral relations "have always been characterised by understanding and mutual trust," Alfano said in a statement to Russia's Tass news agency.
Dialogue will continue to be "based on trust" and with special attention to developing "multisector" cooperation between Italy and Russia "in the political, commercial, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres," read the statement.
This includes cooperation between the Russian and Italian parliaments, judiciaries, ministries and government agencies, research and educational institutions, as well as cultural and civil society organisations, the statement said.
"Contact has been maintained at the highest level," the statement underlined.
The value of bilateral trade reached 21.4 billion dollars in the first 11 months of last year and was up 21.4 percent from the same period of 2016, said the statement.
Alfano is on his first visit to Russia and Ukraine as chairman of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
He was due to meet Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow and hold a press briefing with Lavrov afterwards.
