The new Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said today that he would try to promote "moderate" positions on trade tariffs at the G7 summit where the issue is expected to dominate the leaders' discussions.
"As for trade tariffs, there are very controversial positions there," Conte told reporters ahead of the summit.
"We will definitely promote a moderate position. We will try to understand the reasoning that led some to take the position they took and we will act accordingly. "
The controversy over US tariffs on steel and aluminum has threatened to cause a rift in the G7, which throughout its 42-year history has always sought to reach consensus on the economy and other issues.
Conte also said it was important that trade sanctions against Russia did not hurt the country's ordinary citizens, and that Italy was "completely unhappy" with the way the European Union was handling the issue of immigration from Africa.
The Italian government, backed by the five-star opposition movement and the far-right Lega, has already said it is likely to follow a pro-Russian foreign policy line and has called for the lifting of economic sanctions against Moscow.