Italy's government has summoned Russia's ambassador Alexei Paramanov and voiced its government's "extreme dismay" at the temporary nationalisation of an Italian heating firm firm Ariston subsidiary, saying the move had "no basis in law".
Foreign minister Antonio Tajani called Paramanov to the foreign ministry, where its secretary-general Riccarod Guariglia expressed the Italian government's "extreme dismay at this unexpected measure," according to a ministry statement on Monday.
Guariglia asked Paramonov "for clarifications on Russia's reasons, which have no basis in law," the statement continued.
"In line with its European partners, particularly Germany, Italy calls on the Russian Federation to withdraw the measures taken against legitimate economic activities of foreign companies in the country," the statement said.
The statement recalled that the European Union on Sunday on Sunday "strongly condemned" Russia's transfer to state-controlled energy giant Gazprom of Ariston Thermo Rus and BSH Household Appliances - a subsidiary of the Bosch-Siemens BSH Hausgerate GmbH group.
The Russian decree published on Friday and signed by president Vladimir Putin was "more evidence of Russia's disregard for international law," the statement underlined.
Tajani "reserves the right to explore the consequences of the Russian decision together with G7 and EU partners and consider an appropriate response," the statement warned.
The foreign ministry "continues to track the situation, in close liaison with our embassy in Moscow and our permanent representation to the EU," the statement concluded.
In a statement on Monday, Russia's embassy said the move to put Ariston's subsidiary under Gazprom's "temporary management" was a response to "hostile actions" by Western countries.
The European Commission last month proposed transferring to Ukraine profits of up to 3 billion euros a year generated by Russian central bank assets frozen in Europe after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Over 280.2 billion euros (300 billion dollars) belonging to the Russian central bank has been frozen in the West.
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