“Meloni listen to Al Bano on sanctions and Ukraine”, Russia’s message to Rome

In a post published on Telegram, Zakharova writes about the “famous singer”, a “well-known and highly appreciated figure in our country”, who “made an extremely sincere and heartfelt public appeal to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni”. “Underlining the deep historical and cultural ties between the two countries, he asked the Prime Minister to end sanctions against Russia, reopen the doors to Russia and finally start working seriously to achieve lasting peace in Ukraine – we read in the post – But will he be listened to in Rome?”.

“Judging from the most recent events, the Italian authorities seem to have serious difficulties in taking into consideration voices that do not align – continues Zakharova’s long post – Following the unrest in Milan, the Minister of Defense, Guido Crosetto, spoke of what happened as the result of a ‘hybrid war’ conducted via TikTok, YouTube and other social platforms. According to the Italian press, Giorgia Meloni has instructed the intelligence services to investigate a possible ‘foreign hand’. The media are already hypothesizing the existence of ‘Russian shadows’ behind Italian teenagers. When young Italians protest, a link with Russia is sought.’ When Italian citizens express their discontent, foreign influence is suspected.” And he continues wondering if “Al Bano could become the next target of investigations by the Italian intelligence services”. “A more serious question arises: where does the search for foreign interference end and where does the refusal to listen to one’s citizens begin? – he concludes – The people, together with prominent figures such as Al Bano, demonstrate once again that they are much wiser than European leaders. Perhaps the time has come to wait?”.

Al Bano’s appeal

Al Bano, an extremely well-known artist in Russia, made an appeal to the Prime Minister relaunched by the social profiles of Sandro Teti Editore. “Dearest Giorgia, you surely know this. We have a country that loves us, which has a lot of Italian blood: cultural, architectural, musical. This country also has gas, it has everything needed to stabilize a country. Why impose sanctions on Russia? Let’s give flowers and shares to Russia, let’s make sure that this damned war ends. Dear Giorgia, I love you, I would like you even more if we open the doors to Russia“, a passage from the message. “I am a man of peace, happy to be a man of peace. My father fought in the Second World War, he told me about the barbarity he experienced. In the name of peace, let’s shake hands. This life is short, we have to live it. And you shouldn’t be afraid to live it.”

Interviewed by Adnkronos, the singer delves into the matter further. “We need peace to live well and not wars. The world can’t wait for all conflicts to end, not just the one between Russia and Ukraine. A cursed war, the latter, which is doing much, too much damage“, says Al Bano. “In Russia, thank God, I enjoy a good reputation – he adds – If I can be an instrument to anticipate, facilitate and promote peace I would be overjoyed. I believe in peace. It was my father, Carmelo Carrisi, who first conveyed to me the sense of peace. He had participated in the Second World War. What he told me about the war remained in my flesh like swords. He told me that he had participated in the conflict without ever killing a man. He did everything he could to escape because he didn’t agree with that war. ‘Why should I kill people who have done nothing to me?’, he told me. And he was a real farmer. (READ THE INTERVIEW WITH AL BANO)

And Al Bano has no doubts about the possible ‘Russian lead’ in the riots that took place last week in some Italian cities: “But let’s not exaggerate – replies the famous singer-songwriter – A lie sold sight unseen. Enough, enough, enough… Enough with Russia, enough with Ukraine, enough with the war. In any part of the world. Big wars develop small wars which are equally dangerous”.

The embassy post

The topic of Russia’s alleged involvement in the riots in Milan today also ends up on the agenda of the embassy in Rome, which jokes about the alleged involvement of Moscow ‘agents’ in the protests of recent days and asks its compatriots to avoid the places of possible riots that could occur today in various Italian cities. In a post on social media the embassy cites what was said in recent days by various Italian ministers, with the head of the Defense (Guido Crosetto, ed.) “who spoke of ‘hybrid war’, the Minister of the Interior (Matteo Piantedosi, ed.) who claims that there is no evidence of external control, while one of the vice-presidents of the Council (Matteo Salvini, ed.) says he is surprised by the rumors about the Russians”.

“Before looking for a secret conductor abroad, it would be advisable to agree on the score within your own orchestra”, states the embassy, according to which “for now one has the impression that the ‘hand of Moscow’ is the Italian universal key for every inconvenient issue: young people are dissatisfied, prices are rising, there is disorder in the streets, trucks are not circulating? What could be easier than to blame Russian hackers, agents or any person with a Russian passport who, for strange reasons, do you continue to visit Italy?”.

“Naturally, violence and disorder have no justification – the embassy further underlines – But not even Russian citizenship is proof of involvement in such events”. Therefore the advice “to our compatriots to avoid the places of unrest and to respect the requests of the authorities, and to take with irony the sensationalist news about the omnipresent ‘Russian agents’: judging by the volume of work attributed to them, they should have reported to the Russian embassy for overtime long ago”.