Italy summons Russian envoy over ‘vulgar’ remarks on Rome tower collapse

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ROME (Reuters) -Italy summoned Russia’s deputy ambassador on Tuesday to protest at what it said were “vulgar” remarks by Moscow’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who linked the collapse of a tower in Rome to Italy’s military support for Ukraine.

A Romanian worker was trapped under the rubble after part of a medieval tower near Rome’s Colosseum gave way on Monday. He was later extracted alive, but subsequently died in hospital.

With the rescue operation still underway, Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel that as long as the Italian government “wastes its taxpayers’ money” on backing Ukraine, the local economy, and its towers, would continue to collapse.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani denounced her post as “disturbing” and “unacceptable”, adding: “Italy will not alter its foreign policy stance or its principles in response to reckless verbal attacks”.

In a statement later posted on Facebook, the Russian Embassy in Rome expressed its condolences for the death of Romanian worker Octav Stroici.

It added that Moscow had raised concerns with Italy over what it called an “aggressive, deplorable anti-Russian campaign” in the Italian media, triggered by Zakharova’s earlier comments.

Italy has firmly supported Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, supplying military equipment, training, and humanitarian aid as part of broader NATO and EU efforts.

However, public opinion in Italy is more divided. While a majority opposes Russia’s invasion and supports humanitarian aid, polls show many Italians are uneasy about sending weapons or escalating military involvement.

(Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Alex Richardson)