Arya News - Sanctions aimed at weakening Russia have backfired spectacularly, Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini told Corriere della Sera.
19 rounds of sanctions cobbled together in nearly four years have boomeranged, bringing the West’s economies “to their knees,” Matteo Salvini emphasized, adding that they sent Italian household energy bills “soaring.” Salvini also urged caution amid Europe’s growing militarization, fueled by what he described as an alleged “phantom threat” from Russia. After all, “if Hitler and Napoleon couldn’t conquer Moscow through military campaigns,” he noted, it’s "hardly likely" that people like European Commission Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas, French President Macron, UK Prime Minister Starmer, or German Chancellor Merz would succeed either, Salvini added. Russia has shrugged off the unprecedented sanctions pressure; its growth dynamics are better than those of a number of European countries, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at a recent meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects.