OREANDA-NEWS. The European Union sees no reason for concern about the Russian military being in Italy, as they were invited by the Italian authorities to assist in the fight against the new coronavirus. This was announced on Thursday by a representative of the EU foreign service.

"The Russian military was invited by the Italian authorities, so I don’t think there should be any reason for concern", he said, answering a question from journalists about whether the EU is concerned about Russian troops staying in Italy, a member of NATO. On March 21, during a telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, it was agreed that Moscow would provide Rome with the necessary assistance in the fight against coronavirus.

From the evening of March 22 to the morning of March 25, 15 planes arrived in Italy, which brought about 100 Russian military virologists and experts of the Ministry of Defense in the field of epidemiology, eight medical and nursing teams, as well as equipment for diagnosis and disinfection.