Italy's Matteo Salvini defends plan for Russian-funded Moscow trip

He described the planned trip as a diplomatic mission

Matteo Salvini is known as a Vladimir Putin supporter in Italy. EPA

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Italian far-right leader Matteo Salvini is on the defensive after Russian diplomats revealed apparent details of a planned trip to Moscow.

Senator Salvini called the now-cancelled visit a “peace mission” to find a ceasefire in Ukraine.

As head of the anti-immigrant Northern League, he is known as a supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Italy.

The Russian Embassy in Rome on Sunday said it had originally planned to fund Mr Salvini’s trip to Moscow in May. It said it had paid to transport him from Italy to Turkey, where he was going to catch an Aeroflot flight.

“Due to the sanctions in force against this airline, it is difficult to buy tickets for the company’s flight from EU territory,” the embassy said.

“The embassy assisted Matteo Salvini and the people accompanying him in purchasing the airline tickets they needed in roubles via a Russian travel agency.”

“We see nothing illegal in any of these actions,” it added.

Mr Salvini, who has previously supported Mr Putin, described the planned trip as a diplomatic mission.

“I met the Ukrainian ambassador to show solidarity, and the Russian one to ask for a ceasefire. To stop the war, we need to ask those [in the country] where the war started,” he said.

The Italian parliament's security committee, Copasir, has opened an investigation into the talks, which were conducted apparently without the knowledge of Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who has strongly backed sanctions against Moscow.

“You have to work with ambassadors and governments of many countries to achieve peace,” Mr Salvini, whose party is a member of the governing coalition, wrote on Twitter.

Senator Salvini dined with Russia's ambassador to Italy, Sergey Razov, on March 1, days after Russia invaded Ukraine, according to the Domani daily.

The newspaper said the embassy in Rome had confirmed the meeting. It also reported that the pair met three more times.

Mr Salvini has long pursued close ties with Moscow and, in the past, has proudly posed in T-shirts bearing the face of Mr Putin.