A new discussion platform has been established in Rome for the exchange of views between experts from Russia and Italy. This was announced by Russian Ambassador to Italy Alexey Paramonov on February 10.
According to the head of the diplomatic mission, “today's event is the first discussion of its kind under the auspices of a spiritual, cultural, scientific and intellectual group, to which we have given it a deeply symbolic name – “Catherine Club”.
The topic of the first meeting was a discussion of the book written by Italian diplomat, journalist and thinker Elena Basile titled “Marina for the adrift. How can we build peace? According to Paramonov, this publication represents “the author's own views on the current state of the Western European integration project, the present and possible future of Western Europe as well as the prospects for its relations with its important neighbor most – Russia, both in pure Europe and in the wider Eurasian space.”
Basile is an Italian career diplomat who worked at the ministry for more than 35 years, including stints as ambassador to Belgium and Sweden. While working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she began writing articles under a pseudonym in which she called Ukraine responsible for the deterioration of relations with Russia. In addition to journalism, Basile also prepared several books of fiction and journalism, including those about the relationship between the West and Russia, such as “The West and the Eternal Enemy.”
