Italy’s prime minister travels to Moscow this week as the country pivots ever closer towards Russia in a move that has alarmed allies and irked the European Union.

Giuseppe Conte’s meeting with Vladimir Putin comes as Italy’s relations with Brussels plunge to a new low over its proposed big-spending budget for next year, with the European Commission criticising it as a deviation from spending rules “without precedent in the history of the Stability Pact.”

Italy showed no signs of backing down on Monday as it delivered an official response to the criticisms.

Mr Conte said his government had put a huge amount of work into the budget, which he claimed would promote growth, and was in no mood to…

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