Putin Courts Italy in Bid to Ease Tensions Over Ukraine Conflict

Russia and Italy agreed to set up a $1 billion investment fund and cooperate on the crisis in Libya in talks between President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, the first state-to-state visit by a major European power since the Ukraine conflict.

Calling Italy a “privileged partner,” Putin said his talks with Renzi at the Kremlin were “friendly and constructive.” Renzi, who sought Russia’s support for possible action in Libya as a veto-wielding member of the United Nations Security Council, said the peace agreement signed in Minsk, Belarus, last month offered a way out of the Ukrainian crisis.