Excerpt:
Matteo Salvini, the leader of Italy's far-right Northern League, will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in January, La Repubblica reported.
Following in the footsteps of his French counterpart, Marine Le Pen, Salvini will travel to Moscow with Gianluca Savoini, the president of Lombardy-Russia, which describes itself as a cultural association whose views are in line with Putin's on "identity, sovereignty and tradition".
The pair hope to build relations with a view to reducing the impact of Russian sanctions on Italy's economy.