Italy's foreign minister Luigi Di Maio has condemned threats and insults against Westerners made by deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, Dimitri Medvedev, on the Telegram messaging app.
"Medevev's remarks are extremely serious and dangerous. His words are unacceptable and very worrying," Di Maio stated after Medvedev wrote that Westerners are 'bastards' whom he hates and will try to "make them disappear".
"This is not a sign of dialogue or a step towards a ceasefire," Di Maio said, referring to Russia's 104-day-old war in Ukraine.
"It is not an attempt to re-attain peace. These are unequivocal threats towards those who are striving for peace," Di Maio went on.
Medvedev's comments "distance Russia from the search for peace and stoke a campaign of hatred towards the West," Di Maio underlined.
