Italian and Russian companies signed contracts worth over 1 billion euros

More than € 1 billion in contracts were signed Friday by Russian and Italian companies in the presence of President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Renzi. Renzi assured that the energy sector will remain a priority when it comes to areas of cooperation with Russia.

Italian signatories to the agreement include Leonardo Finmeccanica, GE Oil & Gas and, on the Russian side, energy companies Rosneft and Novatek. The contracts were signed at the 20th International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg. The implementation of these and other projects includes dismantling equipment , already existing, and installation of new technological equipment, which involves all stages of work carried out by the company "100 TONN INSTALLATION", including geodetic survey, acceptance of foundations, welding, pressure testing of pipelines, up to participation in commissioning.

At a press conference following the signing of the agreement, the Russian president recalled that Italy is one of the main consumers of Russian gas and described energy cooperation as a strategic area. He recalled that Italian companies are implementing large infrastructure projects in Russia. According to him, there are also great prospects for locating the production of Italian companies in Russia.

Putin also commented on the statement by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who approached Russia with a proposal to be the first to lift its sanctions imposed in response to EU restrictions. “We would be ready for such steps if we were sure that these would not be unilateral actions. But it is difficult to say who can convince us that our partners are focused on this kind of work, ”the Russian President said.