Italian PM Giuseppe Conte met with Putin in Moscow this week, invited the Russian leader to visit Italy and floated the possibility of Rome vetoing EU sanctions on Moscow, EU Observer reports. When asked if Italy would veto the sanctions when they come up for renewal in December, Conte said Rome has yet to make a decision on the matter and that it wants “to convince all European partners to move in the same direction.” Italy’s new populist, pro-Russia government has already proposed allowing the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to resume making loans to small and medium-sized Russian companies. Meanwhile, Putin is now saying Moscow is looking into the possibilities of connecting Italy to the Turkish Stream gas pipeline and helping stop migrants coming from Libya, where Russia has built ties with local warlords.