Putin visits Italy with one eye on EU sanctions

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends an inteview with journalists of Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in Moscow, Russia, May 28, 2015. REUTERS/Aleksey Nikolskyi/RIA Novosti/Kremlin

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin will be on the lookout for signs of dissent over European Union sanctions on Russia when he visits Italy on Wednesday, but he is likely to be disappointed.

The Russian leader is due to meet Prime Minister Matteo Renzi at the Expo 2015 global fair in Milan, two weeks before the EU decides whether to extend the economic sanctions imposed on Moscow after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014.