MOSCOW, July 17 -- Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said Thursday that Europe will never fully abandon Russian energy, delivering remarks in Moscow that positioned him sharply against the European Union's sanctions strategy and underscored the fault lines within EU member states over how long to sustain economic pressure on Russia.

Salvini, who leads Italy's League party and has long maintained contacts in Moscow, said European consumers and industries were bearing the primary cost of the energy restrictions imposed since Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. He argued that the economic damage inflicted on European households and businesses had not been matched by a comparable political result. ...