Ukraine's ambassador to Italy, Yevhen Perelygin has written to Italy's interior minister and deputy premier Salvini asking him to "confirm or deny" claims this week that he received death-threats from an alleged Ukrainian group.
"Such a clarification could be crucial to avoiding damage to bilateral ties between Italy and Ukraine as well as to the untarnished reputation of the Ukrainian community in Italy, which is known for its adhesion to European principles and Christian values - not for terrorist activities," said the letter.
Should a genuine terrorist threat be proven to exist, the government of Ukraine would offer its "maximum cooperation" to protect Salvini, the letter vowed.
"Ukraine's government views friendly ties and mutually beneficial relations with Italy as a priority," the letter said.
No Ukranian's name had emerged from media reports on a recent raid by Italian police against a far-right group, the letter underlined.
Salvini said on Monday that Italy's secret services had alerted him to a plot to kill him amid a probe that led to the seizure of an air-to-air missile in the northern city of Turin.
Police detained an alleged neo-Nazi and two other suspects as part of the probe into weapons trafficking, which uncovered the missile, authorities said in a statement.
Besides the missile, which suspects were allegedly seeking to sell, investigators found an arsenal in Turin that included assault rifles, pistols and bayonets, the police said in a statement.
