(ANSA) - UDINE - ''Regret'' over sanctions against Russia was expressed today in Udine by the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Italy, Sergey Razov, who arrived in the capital town of Friuli on the occasion of the opening ceremony of the Honorary Consulate of Russia at the Chamber of Commerce. ''It's not us who have applied these sanctions - he said -, so we are expecting for decisions to be made by those who have established them''.

''Anyone can understand - said Razov - both in Russia and in Italy, that these sanctions are a heavy burden. Especially those who do business are suffering from them - he added -, just as shown by the figures, testifying losses of many billions of euros in trade between our two countries. But above all - Razov said -, these sanctions impact negatively on our relationship and of course, if the sanctions disappeared, the flow of goods and activities would increase and the whole import-export system would take advantage of it''.

No time to waste, the ambassador said, ''because markets do not tolerate any vacuum, and thus some other partners take the place of those who leave, and to regain lost ground can become a long and demanding challenge''.

While thanking the Chamber of Commerce of Udine and the ''energetic'' economic system of the region, Ambassador Razov pointed out that ''this new Consulate in Friuli can be a very useful tool for strengthening our relationship'', and then added that '' although the Italian partners are facing big problems in this period, in order to improve the situation we can take into account the possibility of locating production activities from Friuli Venezia Giulia and Italy in the Russian Federation, by creating joint ventures''.

Despite a ban on exports to Russia ''for single products or a whole category of goods'', the ambassador underlined ''we can consider the possibility that production activities of Italian brands may be located in the Russian Federation''. Razov finally said, ''If it ain't broke, don't fix it. During my visit in the province of Udine, I heard that many companies in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region are already working in Russia or with Russia with remarkable positive results. So I'm hoping this is the way to go''.(ANSA).