Senior Italian and Russian officials met to discuss potential business investments worth hundreds of millions of euros just over a week before Moscow invaded Ukraine, people familiar with the matter said.
Talks in Moscow included a possible partnership between Genoa-based Ansaldo Energia and Russia’s NordEnergoGroup, according to the people, who asked not to be named disclosing private negotiations.
Rome-based energy firm Enel SpA’s plan to invest in Slovenske Elektrarne with Russia’s Sberbank, which has been financing the Slovak utility for decades, was also discussed, the people said. Other topics included a €200 million ($225 million) investment from aluminum group Rusal in a plant it owns in Sardinia and a recent accord between mining-technology companies.