Interview: Italy plays key role as "bridge" between Europe, Russia in Ukraine crisis, says analyst

ROME, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Italy hopes to keep dialogue channels open with Russia amid the Ukraine crisis due to their relatively close ties, and has a key mediator role to play in Europe's relations with Moscow going forward, a leading political analyst has said.

BRIDGE BETWEEN EUROPE, MOSCOW

"In recent decades, Italy has acted as a bridge between Europe and Moscow," Eleonora Tafuro, a research fellow focusing on Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia at the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI), told Xinhua in an interview.

"There are several factors. You can name political or cultural ties or considerations of Italy's role as a middle power. But I think economic considerations have always played a big role in pushing Rome toward a mediator role with Russia, and it will continue to be so," Tafuro said.

As relevant parties are working to broker a peaceful solution to the Ukraine crisis, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio told local media on April 13 that Italy "always has a channel open with Moscow" in the hopes of pushing for a political settlement.

Tafuro noted the conflict in Ukraine has increased the challenges for Italy as a "bridge" between its European allies and Moscow.

ENERGY DEPENDENCE

While the 27-nation European Union (EU) is united in denouncing Russia for its military operation in Ukraine, the reliance some European countries have on Russian energy complicates the situation.

"The EU and Russia have had a very difficult and complex relationship over the last few years," she said. "This includes close economic ties, almost an economic interdependence, especially in some fields such as energy. At the same time, it is a very tense political relationship."

"What we're seeing today is not a new situation," Tafuro pointed out. "But it's made much worse by the conflict. In the near term, we are going to witness a weird mix ... because our energy dependence on Russia won't go away anytime soon."

This situation is particularly problematic for Italy and Germany, the two main importers of Russian natural gas in Europe, she said. Italy's energy situation is "more vulnerable" than Germany's, even though Germany imports a greater percentage of its gas from Russia -- some 50 percent for Germany compared to 40 percent for Italy -- since Italy's overall energy mix is more reliant on gas than Germany's, she said.

The situation in Italy may improve in the coming months, following a high-profile gas supply deal Italy signed with Algeria earlier in April.

The deal will make Algeria Italy's single largest gas supplier, just ahead of Russia. But it will be impossible for Italy to eliminate its need for Russian gas in the near term, Tafuro said.

Italy on Wednesday and Thursday struck new deals with Angola and the Republic of the Congo in a continued effort to ramp up gas imports.

DELICATE BALANCE

The complications for Rome, Tafuro said, go beyond natural gas supplies. Italy has the second-highest number of Ukrainian residents in the EU, trailing only Poland, something that is already leading to a rising flow of refugees, she said.

There are over 91,000 Ukrainian refugees in Italy, according to media reports. Last week, Italian media quoted civil official to report that four regions of the Western European nation were under pressure.

Still, Tafuro said the Ukraine crisis has enhanced the importance of Italy as a Russia-EU mediator.

"Italy has to maintain this very fragile balance between being a committed European country that sustains and supports all the decisions that are taken collectively by the European Union member states," she said. "At the same time, it wants to maintain open channels of dialogue with Russia, because of its own economic and energy dependence on Moscow."

"It is a delicate balance. I think it's an increasingly difficult task for Rome to perform, but it's a necessary one," she concluded.