The Russian ambassador to Italy was summoned to the Italian Foreign Ministry due to statements by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
Zakharova called the statements of Italian President Sergio Mattarella that Russia was threatening Europe with nuclear weapons a lie and a fabrication.
Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani later announced that he had instructed the ministry to summon the Russian ambassador to Rome because of Zakharova's remarks to the president.
"They have nothing to defend themselves with. They decided to attack, but it was in vain. In this way, they only drew more attention to their problems," Zakharova said in an interview with the Izvestia newspaper, commenting on the ambassador's summons to the Foreign Ministry. According to her, the Italian side is reacting this way because Russian representatives "once again caught the same person in a lie."
