Russia may possibly attempt to influence next year’s Italian general election, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Wednesday.
“It’s a general issue, it’s an issue that concerns the entire European Union, but it cannot be ruled out that there may be attempts to influence the elections in the countries where the vote is being held,” said Tajani on arrival at an informal EU foreign ministers’ gathering at Wicklow in Ireland.
“I’m convinced it could happen, which is why we need to intervene early,” said the foreign minister, who is also deputy premier.
“I do not rule out attempts by the Russian Federation to interfere in the democratic life of European Union countries, interfering in free democratic elections held in our countries, attempting to influence the will of the people with this reprehensible activity,” Tajani stated.
“This would be truly unacceptable; this has already been discussed on more than one occasion.
We must be vigilant, we must prevent such actions from a country with which we are not at war.
“Therefore,” he emphasized, “we will continue to monitor; it is no coincidence that there has been a reform of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Since January 1st, there has been a general directorate responsible for security, both politically and operationally, and it is no coincidence that there is a 24-hour operations room, specifically to repel cyber attacks, many of which come from Russian hackers, against our diplomatic missions and the ministry.” “I remember that during (Ukrainian President Voldymyr) Zelensky’s first visit, when the plane touched down at Ciampino Airport, I was there to welcome the Ukrainian president.
“There was an attack on the Foreign Ministry website.
“There are precedents, and we are vigilant to ensure that democratic life in our countries is always guaranteed.
Arriving at the biannual ‘Gymnich’ meet, Tajani was also asked about the possible use of frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine.
He said Italy was not opposed to the use of Russian assets, but there are potential legal problems, stressing that the European Union and other international forums had discussed it many times, but the decision wasn’t made for legal reasons.
“We’re not opposed in principle, but we need to see if there are the legal positions to do so,”Tajani said regarding the request from some countries to confiscate frozen Russian assets and use them for Ukraine.
“The issue has always been that there may be legal problems in intervening: we’ve discussed it many times, and the decision wasn’t made precisely for this reason, not from a political perspective, but from a legal one,” he added.
