Italy Appoints ‘Putin-versteher’ as Ambassador to Russia

In a move that signals the will to distance itself from the warmongers in the EU and NATO, and to dialogue with Russia, the Italian government has appointed Stefano Beltrame as its new Ambassador to Moscow. Beltrame has had diplomatic posts in Tehran, Shanghai, and Washington. In 2018 he became advisor to then Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, for whom he organized a visit to Moscow where Salvini endorsed the result of the Crimea referendum and called for lifting sanctions.