Italy is working to bring home a four-year-old girl from the southern town of Teggiano whose mother took her to Russia in 2018 and it is "closely following" the case, foreign minister Luigi Di Maio stated on Thursday.
"The foreign ministry is closely following developments in coordination with the authorities in Italy that under the Hague Convention deal with international child abductions," Di Maio wrote in a statement.
Italy's ambassador is applying pressure"at the highest levels" to ensure that binding Russian court rulings ordering the repatriation of the girl - named Sofia - are enforced, according to the statement.
"We will continue to work for a solution to this case that is in Sofia's best interests, allowing her to come home," said the statement, which was addressed to councillor for the Campania region, Tommaso Pellegrino.
Sofia's father, Luigi Di Salvio, sought Pellegrino's help after his ex-wife, a Russian national, took Sofia to Russia iin September 2018 on a pretext.
