Italian lawmakers probe Russian pandemic mission's motives

ROME (AP) — An Italian Parliament committee that deals with intelligence matters summoned former Premier Giuseppe Conte on Thursday over growing concerns that a Russian military and medical team sent to help Italy early in the COVID-19 pandemic was really on a spying mission.

Conte was serving as Italy’s populist leader when the pandemic began in 2020 and overwhelmed the country's health system, which was then desperate for masks, respirators and sanitizing material.

Proceedings of the Parliamentary Committee for the Security of the Republic are usually closed-door since they involve national security.

It wasn’t immediately known if Conte or lawmakers on the committee would brief journalists on the contents of the hearing, which was scheduled to start Thursday evening.

Ahead of the committee appearance, Conte said he had offered his availability to immediately appear before the lawmakers. “That is so no one has any scruples, perplexity, doubts” about his role while premier, the Italian agency LaPresse quoted him as saying.

Conte leads the populist 5-Star Movement, Parliament’s largest party.

The Russian mission involved some 100 army personnel and medical workers. It came under renewed scrutiny recently after a Russian foreign ministry official publicly threatened Italy’s defense minister, Lorenzo Guerini, if Italy pressed ahead with tough sanctions over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian ministry official simultaneously implied Italy was being ungrateful for the pandemic aid.

In March 2020, Russia offered to send Italy some 400 personnel and equipment. Guerini objected and succeeded in getting the Russian team reduced to about 100 members. An Italian general also successfully argued against Russia’s proposal to sanitize not just hospitals and nursing...