Italy summons Russian ambassador over Zakharova's tower collapse joke
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is set to summon the Russian Ambassador to Rome to deliver a formal note of protest.
This high-level diplomatic action is a direct response to the highly ironic and controversial comments made by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, following the tragic partial collapse of a medieval tower in the center of Rome.
According to diplomatic sources cited by the EFE agency, this significant development in the burgeoning Russia-Italy diplomatic row is scheduled to occur on Tuesday, November 4.
The incident prompting this diplomatic fallout was the partial collapse of the historic Torre dei Conti, one of the Italian capital's oldest medieval structures. The tower gave way on the morning of November 3 during routine consolidation works. Crucially, the catastrophic incident resulted in the death of a Romanian worker.
This tragedy was immediately seized upon and ironized by Maria Zakharova. She suggested that the Italian economy, burdened by its substantial Ukraine support during the conflict with Russia, "will yield (collapse) just like the tower."
In a fierce reaction, the ANSA news agency quotes sources from the Italian Foreign Ministry who explicitly stated that Zakharova’s ironies and "disgusting and worrying words" "confirm the abyss of vulgarity into which the Moscow leadership has sunk."
Three individuals were pulled from the ruins following the Rome tower collapse, two of them being Romanian nationals. One sustained only minor injuries.
Tragically, the other worker, who remained trapped under the debris for nearly 12 arduous hours, did not survive despite the successful efforts of the rescue teams to extract him. Doctors at the Umberto I hospital attempted resuscitation for about an hour but were unsuccessful. His death was officially pronounced at 00:20. The victim of this devastating Torre dei Conti tragedy was a 66-year-old man, a native of Suceava.
Following the confirmation of the victim's identity, the General Mayor of Bucharest, Nicușor Dan, on Tuesday morning sent a heartfelt message of condolences to the victim's family, while also recognizing and praising the extensive efforts of the Italian rescue teams.
"I learned with profound sadness the news that the Romanian man trapped under the ruins of the medieval tower in Rome passed away last night at the hospital. I send my condolences to his family and loved ones. May God rest his soul in peace and bring comfort to the grieving family," Nicușor Dan wrote on his social media platforms.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
