Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, who is under EU sanctions, managed to travel to Geneva for a parliamentary conference after Italy and France granted her plane permission to fly over their territories.
According to Bloomberg, flight tracking data showed Matviyenko’s aircraft traveling from Turkey over the Mediterranean, entering Italian airspace, and arriving in Geneva on Monday. Her return to Moscow on Wednesday followed a route through both French and Italian skies, the outlet reported.
Sources in Rome told Bloomberg that Italy approved the flight at the request of the Swiss government. They added that the decision was made after consultations with French authorities, who also received the same request and agreed.
The Swiss Foreign Ministry explained that exceptions to entry bans can be made “for humanitarian, medical, or diplomatic purposes.” The EU has prohibited Russian aircraft from its skies since February 2022, days after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Matviyenko led the Russian delegation to the World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments in Geneva. The move sparked criticism from Ukrainian officials, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi saying her place was “in the dock in the court, not at international conferences.”
Her speech was met with a visible protest—dozens of attendees walked out of the hall while she addressed the gathering.
