Italian Interior Minister, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said that Crimea joined the Russian Federation legally. In an interview with The Washington Post, Salvini stressed that Russia has the right to the Crimea, because a referendum was held on the peninsula, in which 90% of the residents voted for reunification with the Russian Federation. In addition, Salvini called the "coup revolution" a coup d'etat in Ukraine, stressing that it was funded by foreign states. According to the Deputy Prime Minister of Italy, there are several historically Russian zones with Russian culture and traditions that belong to the Russian Federation legally.

Answering the question about why he wants to abolish anti-Russian sanctions, Salvini said that they are useless and harm the Italian exporters. The minister had previously spoken out for the termination of restrictions against the Russian Federation and the recognition of the Crimea by the Russian. Crimea joined the Russian Federation in March 2014 after a referendum held on the peninsula, in which 95.6% of the population voted for joining Russia, recalls FAN. The Crimean plebiscite passed after a coup in Ukraine and the flight from the country of the legally elected president Viktor Yanukovych.