Sanctions against Russia an 'Absurdity

Salvini -- who is also head of the far-right ruling League party -- said that many business leaders had asked him when the sanctions would be over, noting that Italian companies had been hit by the measure, Reuters reported.

In June, European Union leaders agreed to extend their economic sanctions against Russia, prolonging curbs on doing business with the Russian banking, financial and energy sectors until the end of January.

Salvini added he would be in Russia on Wednesday.

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