Italian govt demands Russia reverse Ariston move

(ANSA) - ROME, APR 29 - The Italian government on Monday told Russia's Ambassador to Italy Alexei Paramonov that Moscow must reverse its decision to put the Russian subsidiary of Italian heating firm Ariston under the "temporary management" of Gazprom.
    Paramonov was received on Monday at the foreign ministry in Rome by Secretary General Riccardo Guariglia after being summoned on Saturday by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani over the move regarding Ariston Thermo Rus and a German company.
    Guariglia "expressed the Italian government's strong disappointment" to Paramonov and asked for clarification.
    "In line with its European partners, and in particular with Germany, Italy is asking the Russian Federation to withdraw the measures adopted against legitimate economic activities of foreign companies in the country," said a foreign ministry statement after the meeting.
    The Russian embassy said Paramonov provided "exhaustive explanations on the legality and grounds for the decisions taken".
    It said that Paramonov "reminded his interlocutors that Moscow has always attached particular importance to profitable and mutually beneficial trade and economic relations with Italy.
    "The responsibility for the negative consequences of their deterioration falls entirely on the Italian authorities, who have sacrificed real national interests to participate in sterile, dangerous anti-Russian adventures," it said. (ANSA).