JRL NEWSWATCH: “A weak link; The tiny republic of San Marino is alarmingly friendly to Russia” – The Economist
“Intelligence sources are concerned about the country, which is surrounded by Italy”
“… San Marino has long had close ties to Russia … explained by … its traditional neutrality. It did not … impos[e] sanctions after [Russia’s 2014] annexation of Crimea … [F]ive years later … the microstate’s then foreign minister invited … Sergei Lavrov, to … an official visit. In 2021 it bought Russia’s Sputnik vaccine, giving Moscow a propaganda boost, and later that year … signed an agreement to scrap visa restrictions. In 2022 … after the full-scale invasion … the tiny republic did implement sanctions … abandoning centuries of formal neutrality. That San Marino may still have an ambivalent policy towards Russia comes as no surprise to [Italian] intelligence sources …. San Marino [reportedly] has long provided a haven for espionage …. Russian[] and … Chinese[] intelligence … have made use of San Marino as a place to meet agents and conduct financial transactions ‘out of sight’ ….. Once a tax haven, San Marino’s economy has suffered … from … stricter control of offshore financial centres [yet] [i]ts citizens are nevertheless among the richest in the world. European Commission[] spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy [Peter Stano], said: ‘San Marino is an EU like-minded partner and regularly supports EU foreign-policy positions in international organisations.’ He also noted that San Marino had voted for the UN General Assembly motion demanding Russia withdraw from Ukraine. But a senior Ukrainian intelligence official said that … the apparent lack of attention being paid to San Marino’s foreign policies by its European neighbours was ‘a cause for concern.’ …”
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