On Thursday, the president of the Association of Italian Entrepreneurs in Russia (GIM Unimpresa) said that there are a number of Italian corporations which were forced to leave the Russian market due to the imposition of Western sanctions which would like to return to their operations in the country.

Vittorio Torrembini, president of GIM Unimpresa, said in an interview with the Izvestia news outlet that since February of 2022, when the EU, the US, and their allies imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on the Kremlin over the conflict in Ukraine, Italy’s exports to the Russian nation have fallen by roughly 35%.

Torrembini said, “I have repeatedly said that the Russian market is very important for Italian companies, and not only for them,” adding that the investments by Italian businesses in Russia, “cannot be tossed to the wind.”

Torrembini pointed out that there were ten Italian companies which mainly operated in the oil and gas sector which had announced they were suspending their activities in Russia following the onset of hostilities in Ukraine.

He went on to say, “Moreover, state-owned company Enel, which is engaged in the production of electricity, was sold for a very low price, as well as Leonardo, which works in the defense sector,” which he noted were sales which led to losses that were “irrevocable.”

He added, almost every Italian company which left the Russian market has indicated they would like to return.

Torrembini said, “In particular, Maire Tecnimont and Saipem, which used to work in the energy sector and had contracts worth billions of euros. I don’t think that the shareholders of these companies do not want to return.”

The GIM Unimpresa president said that huge Italian companies such as Pirelli, Barilla, and Ferrero had decided to continue operating in Russia last October. Meanwhile there were 110 companies from Italy which were still operating production operations in Russia as of earlier this year, and there are 150 members of GIM Unimpresa which still maintain a presence in Russia regardless of the sanctions imposed on it.