(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 23 - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Thursday that the policy Italy has adopted since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine was "deplorable".
    Rome has staunchly supported Western sanctions on Russia since its aggression on its neighbour and is sending military aid to Kyiv.
    "Italy is always in our hearts, but at the moment it is at the forefront, politically and in security terms, of the countries that want to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia," Ryabkov told ANSA in an interview.
    "This is deplorable.
    "Italy has had extraordinary relations with our country in every field for centuries, "There have been ups and downs and wars. But Rome was among the very few that had a profound comprehension of the respective positions and of how much these relations enrich us reciprocally".
    Ryabkov said the areas of Ukraine that Russia has annexed will remain under Moscow's control permanently.
    "Russia is continuing the military operation in Ukraine to ensure it has total control of the regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, which were annexed last September by the Russian Federation," he said.
    "Territories that have become an integral part of Russia cannot be reconsidered in another way". (ANSA).