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Italian far-right leader Matteo Salvini is on the defensive after Russian diplomats revealed apparent details of a planned trip to Moscow.
Senator Salvini called the now-cancelled visit a “peace mission” to find a ceasefire in Ukraine.
As head of the anti-immigrant Northern League, he is known as a supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Italy.
The Russian Embassy in Rome on Sunday said it had originally planned to fund Mr Salvini’s trip to Moscow in May. It said it had paid to transport him from Italy to Turkey, where he was going to catch an Aeroflot flight.
“Due to the sanctions in force against this airline, it is difficult to buy tickets for the company’s flight from EU territory,” the embassy said.
“The embassy assisted Matteo Salvini and the people accompanying him in purchasing the airline tickets they needed in roubles via a Russian travel agency.”
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Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron visit Irpin, outside Kyiv, and survey damage following Russia's invasion. AP -
Ukrainian troops fire with a French self-propelled Caesar howitzer towards Russian positions at a front line in the eastern region of Donbas. AFP -
Workers pour molten steel into a mould at a foundry in Berdyansk, Zaporizhzhia region, in an area under Russian military control. AP -
Russian soldiers guard an area next to a field of wheat in the Zaporizhzhia region. AP -
A US Marine Corps Harrier fighter jet is parked on board the assault ship USS Kearsarge, during the Baltops 22 exercise in the Baltic Sea. Reuters -
A man picks up debris after his house was destroyed by shelling in the city of Dobropillia, Donbas region. AFP -
Smoke rises after shelling in Ukraine's breakaway enclave of Donetsk. AFP -
A mascot is wrapped in the colours of the Ukrainian flag before the country's Uefa Nations League football match against the Republic of Ireland in Lodz, Poland. Reuters -
Russian soldiers walk near a monument at the entrance of Mariupol, which has been painted in the colours of the Russian flag. AFP -
French troops at an air base in Constanta, Romania. French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to visit the base in a show of support for Nato and European allies following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. AP -
Svitlana Nazarenko, sister of Mykhailo Tereshchenko, is comforted by her son during her brother's funeral in Kyiv. The Ukrainian soldier was killed in the Donbas region. Getty -
Russian troops demine the bay and beach of Mariupol, Ukraine. AFP -
A Russian soldier inspects the Azovstal steel plant, in Mariupol, in territory which is under control of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic. AP -
A house heavily damaged by Russian shelling is seen through a broken window, in the town of Bakhmut, Donetsk region. AP -
Maryna Golovnia sits in a van with her children as they leave their home in Bakhmut, amid fighting. Getty Images -
Ballet dancer Mykyta Sukhorukov rehearses before the evening Gala Concert of the Ukrainian National Ballet, in Kosice, Slovakia. Getty Images -
A Ukrainian soldier looks on from inside a tank at a position in the breakaway Donetsk enclave, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues. Reuters -
Boys play on top of a damaged Russian tank in Kyiv. EPA -
An Orthodox priest blesses Ukrainian soldiers during a service at a church in the Eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. EPA -
A damaged Ukrainian navy ship, the 'Donbas', lies partially submerged near the pier in the port city of Mariupol. EPA -
Ukrainian soldiers load a projectile into a tank near the small city of Svitlodarsk, in the breakaway Ukrainian enclave of Donetsk. EPA -
Smoke rises after the Russian military struck a compound at the Azot Chemical Plant in Lysychansk, Ukraine. Reuters -
A Russian serviceman on patrol outside the Ukrainian town of Schastia. AFP -
Mourners gather during the funeral of Ukrainian serviceman Ruslan Skalskyi in Lviv. AFP -
Civilians are evacuated from Lysychansk, in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. AFP -
A man passes two destroyed military lorries in Lysychansk. AFP -
Ukrainian soldiers run for cover during clashes with Russian troops in Lysychansk. AFP -
An elderly woman reacts as Ukrainian soldiers lead her to safety during a battle with Russian troops in Lysychansk. AFP -
A wounded woman is assisted by Ukrainian soldiers in Lysychansk. AFP -
A house burns after being shelled in Lysychansk. AFP -
A Ukrainian serviceman speaks on a radio at a front line in the Donbas region. AFP -
A man walks next to a damaged building in Lysychansk. Reuters -
A man with children rides a bicycle along an empty street, as smoke rises after Russian shelling in Lysychansk. Reuters -
An unexploded shell is stuck in the ground in Lysychansk. euters -
An elderly woman, who was evacuated from the Lysychansk area, cries moments before travelling by train to western Ukraine from Pokrovsk railway station. AP
“We see nothing illegal in any of these actions,” it added.
Mr Salvini, who has previously supported Mr Putin, described the planned trip as a diplomatic mission.
“I met the Ukrainian ambassador to show solidarity, and the Russian one to ask for a ceasefire. To stop the war, we need to ask those [in the country] where the war started,” he said.
The Italian parliament's security committee, Copasir, has opened an investigation into the talks, which were conducted apparently without the knowledge of Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who has strongly backed sanctions against Moscow.
“You have to work with ambassadors and governments of many countries to achieve peace,” Mr Salvini, whose party is a member of the governing coalition, wrote on Twitter.
Senator Salvini dined with Russia's ambassador to Italy, Sergey Razov, on March 1, days after Russia invaded Ukraine, according to the Domani daily.
The newspaper said the embassy in Rome had confirmed the meeting. It also reported that the pair met three more times.
Mr Salvini has long pursued close ties with Moscow and, in the past, has proudly posed in T-shirts bearing the face of Mr Putin.
